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IVI Holds Inauguration Ceremony for New Director General Dr. Jerome H. Kim
IVI Holds Inauguration Ceremony for
New Director General Dr. Jerome H. Kim
Dignitaries pose for a photo at the inauguration of the IVI Director General at IVI Headquarters on June 22. The event was attended by more than 100 people, including Dr. Jerome Kim (fourth from left, front row); Prof. Adel A. Mahmoud, Chair of the IVI Board of Trustees (third from left, front row); Lars Danielsson, Swedish Ambassador to Korea (third from left, rear row); Mark Lippert (far right, rear row), U.S. Ambassador to Korea; Dr. Gim Chaechun (second from left, front row), Vice Minister of Education; Prof. Sung Nak-in (third from right, front row), President of Seoul National University; and Prof. Cho Dong-sung, President of the Korea Support Committee for IVI.
l Ceremony attended by more than 100 people including donors and partners such as Korean Ministry of Education, Swedish Ambassador to Korea, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
l Director General Kim urges partners to “Harness science in the interest of society” and calls for continued support, strengthened partnerships in vaccine research to cope with emerging diseases including MERS and Ebola, as well as neglected diseases such as cholera
June 22, Seoul, South Korea - The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) held an inauguration ceremony for its new Director General Jerome H. Kim, M.D., at the IVI headquarters at Seoul National University today. Dr. Kim began his term in March 2015 and will be leading the Seoul-based international organization for the next four years.
Dr. Kim, who has accumulated a wide range of knowledge and experience as a vaccine development expert and HIV research authority, has been spotlighted as the first IVI leader of Korean descent. Dr. Kim’s appointment as IVI’s leader is expected to add significant momentum to the development of the Institute, the first international organization hosted by the Republic of Korea.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by more than 100 people including IVI donors, stakeholders, and partners. Remarks were given by Prof. Adel A. Mahmoud, Chair of IVI’s Board of Trustees and Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University in the U.S.; Gim Chae-Chun, Vice Minister of Education of Korea; Ms. Becky Frank, Deputy Director of Strategy Planning & Management for Enteric & Diarrheal Disease (EDD) and Pneumonia from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; H.E. Lars Danielsson, Swedish Ambassador to Korea; Prof. Sung Nak-In, President of Seoul National University; and Prof. Cho Dong-Sung, President of the Korea Support Committee for IVI (KSC).
In his inaugural speech, Dr. Kim stated, “This ceremony is being held at a time when Korea is battling the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, a disease unknown until 2012…like SARS, influenza, and Ebola the spread of these threats is facilitated by something we all take for granted, the necessity, and ease, of international travel…we must engage with energy and purpose: to identify, understand, and control – to develop treatments and work on prevention, and ultimately, a vaccine. Once again, let’s harness science in the interest of society.”
Vice Minister Gim Chae-Chun, said, “In the wake of the recent outbreak of MERS in Korea and last year's Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa, the global community is becoming ever more aware of the importance of developing and distributing vaccines, which is why it is time for the international community to make concerted efforts under the lead of IVI,” adding, “I'm looking forward to seeing IVI boost capacity in vaccine research and take a new leap forward under Director General Kim’s leadership.”
IVI has been collaborating with a number of vaccine manufacturers in several countries through technology transfer and clinical development to help them bring vaccines to licensure and to obtain WHO prequalification (PQ). In Korea, IVI is partnering with SK Chemicals on a new typhoid vaccine and with EuBiologics on an oral cholera vaccine.
“IVI’s vaccine research has been instrumental in helping to reduce the burden of infectious diseases in developing countries. Their support is helping to elevate the global profile of the Korean vaccine industry and research capabilities to have a positive impact on global health, Ms. Becky Frank of the Gates Foundation said. “As Korean companies have become household names globally for electronic consumer goods, cars and others industries, we can easily envision a future where Korea enjoys the same reputation for vaccines.”
Dr. Kim is among the world’s leading authorities in the field of HIV/AIDS vaccine development. He was named one of “The 50 Most Influential People in Vaccines” in 2014 by the vaccine industry organization Vaccine Nation. Prior to joining IVI, Dr. Kim served as Principal Deputy and Chief, Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Pathogenesis at the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP) and also as the Project Manager for the HIV Vaccines and Advanced Concepts Evaluation Project Management Offices, U.S. Army Medical Material Development Activity. He is a Professor of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. He received his M.D. from the Yale University School of Medicine.
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About IVI
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is the world’s only international organization devoted exclusively to developing and introducing new and improved vaccines to protect the world’s poorest people, especially children in developing countries. Established in 1997, IVI operates as an independent international organization under a treaty signed by 35 countries and the World Health Organization. The Institute conducts research in more than 20 countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America on vaccines against enteric and diarrheal infections, Japanese encephalitis, and dengue fever, and develops new and improved vaccines at its headquarters in Seoul, Republic of Korea. For more information, please visit www.ivi.int.
Media Contact:
IVI Media Contact:
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