• Contact Information
• Educational and Professional Background
• Research/Creative Activities
• Professional Memberships and Activities
• Recent Publications
• Additional Information

Educational and Professional Background

Dr. No-Hee Park was born in Korea, where he attended the Seoul National University College of Dentistry. Graduating with a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree (D.D.S.) in 1968, Dr. Park went on to receive a Masters of Science in Dentistry degree (M.S.D.) two years later in dental sciences. In 1975, Dr. Park arrived in Augusta, Georgia, as a graduate student at the Medical College of Georgia and earned a Ph.D. degree in pharmacology in 1978. He then went on to join the Eye Research Institute affiliated with the Harvard Medical School in Boston and at the same time enrolled in the Harvard School of Dental Medicine earning a Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry degree (D.M.D.) in 1982. In 1984, Dr. Park joined the faculty of the UCLA School of Dentistry in the Department of Oral Biology. In 1995 he was made Director of the UCLA Dental Research Institute and in 1997 he was named Associate Dean for Research at the UCLA School of Dentistry. He became Dean of the School in 1998 where he continues to the present.

Research/Creative Activities

While attending the Medical College of Georgia, Dr. Park studied and reported a novel method to deliver drugs that kill viruses under the skin. He developed a new model system that is very useful for studying how the herpes simplex virus (HSV) induces many different diseases, such as cold sores, venereal disease, brain inflammation and cancer. This system has been widely used by others in herpes simplex virus research. At the Eye Research Institute in Boston, Dr. Park studied the effect of acyclovir (Zovirax®), a very effective drug against HSV, and was first to report that acyclovir was useful for the treatment of fatal brain inflammation caused by HSV. Upon entering the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Dr. Park engaged in research investigating the role of viruses in the development of oral cancer. The thematic focus of Dr. Park's research programs is the molecular mechanisms of Oral Carcinogenesis and Treatment. He has developed a unique in vitro mutistep oral carcinogenesis model, and is presently investigating the molecular mechanisms of the conversion of normal oral epithelial cells to malignant phenotypes. He has studied the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) on genetic stability and DNA repair of normal cells, which will eventually transform to cancer cells by the virus. He was also deeply involved in the research for unveiling the mechanisms of cell aging and developed a unique in vitro cell aging system using human oral keratinocytes. Dr. Park further initiated gene therapy research for oral cancer. In collaboration with the UCLA AIDS Institutes, he has studied the therapeutic efficacy of a lentiviral vector capable of expressing HIV Vpr protein.

Professional memberships and activities:

EDITORIAL BOARD AND REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS (Presently active)

1996 - Present Member, Editorial Board, International J. Oncology
1997 - Present Member, Editorial Board, Electronic Journal of Biotechnology
2000 - Present Associate Editor, Odontology
1990 - Present Ad Hoc Reviewer of Nature Genetics, Oncogene, Virology, Clinical Cancer Research, FASEB Letters, Carcinogenesis, Cancer Research Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Archives of Oral Biology, Journal of Dental Research, Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, and IN VITRO & Developmental Cellular Biology, Molecular & Cellular Biology

MEMBERSHIPS IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

1970 - Present Member, International Association for Dental Research (IADR)
1975 - Present Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science
1978 - Present Member, American Society for Microbiology
1979 - Present Member, American Association for Dental Schools (AADS) and American Dental Education Association (ADEA)
1994 - Present Member, American Association for Cancer Research
1988 - Present Member, Tissue Culture Association
1996 - Present Member, California Dental Association (CDA)
1996 - Present Member, American Dental Association (ADA)
1988 - Present Member, AADS (American Association for Dental Schools) Council of Deans Executive Committee
2001 - Present Member, Executive Committee, Friends of NIDCR)
2001 - Present Member, Selection Committee for Distinguished Scientist in Oral Medicine and Pathology, International Assoc. for Dent. Res. (IADR)

Recent Publications

(Out of 131)

1. Rey O, Lee S and Park, N.-H.: The E7 oncoprotein of the human papillomavirus type 16 represses the transcription of human fibronectin. Journal of Virology 74:4912-4918, 2000.
2. Kang, M., Bibb, C., Baluda, M. A., Osvaldo R. and Park, N.-H.: In vitro replication and differentiation of normal human oral keratinocytes. Experimental Cell Res. 258:288-297, 2000. (Featured article of the Journal)
3. Zhou, H, Lin, A., Gu, Z., Chen, S., Park, N.-H. and Chiu, R.: TPA-induced JNK phospatase inhibition required for JNK activity induced by TPA in immortalized or transformed epithelial cells. J. Biol. Chem. 275:22868-22875, 2000.
4. Guo, W., Okamoto, M., Kari Hong, K., Marcel A. Baluda, M. A. and Park, N.-H.: Cloning of the cDNA and Promoter of Hamster Telomerase Catalytic Subunit (hamTERT). Biochem. Biophy. Acta 1517:398-409, 2001.
5. Guo, W., Okamoto, M., Park, Noh-Hyun, Lee T.-M. and Park, N.-H.: Cloning and expression of hamster telomerase catalytic subunit cDNA. International J. Molecular Medicine 8:73-78, 2001.
6. Kim, H., Christensen, R., Kang, M., Park, Noh-Hyun, Sapp, P. and Park, N.-H.: Elevated expression of hTERT is associated with dysplastic cell transformation during human oral carcinogenesis in situ. Clinical Cancer Res. 7:3079-3086, 2001.
7. Pang, S., Kang, M., Kung, S, Yu, D., Lee, A., Poon, B., Chen, I.S.Y. and Park, N.-H.: Anticancer effect of lentiviral vector capable of expressing HIV-1 Vpr. Clinical Cancer Res. 7:3567-3573, 2001.
8. Liu, X., Nishitani, J., McQuirter J.L., Baluda, M. and Park, N.-H.: The temperature sensitive mutant p53-143ala extends in vitro life span, promotes errors in DNA replication and impairs DNA repair in normal human oral keratinocytes. Cell. Mol. Biol. 47:1169-1178, 2002.
9. Kang, MK, Swee, J, Baluda, MA, and Park, N-H: The telomeric length and heterogeneity decrease with age in normal human oral keratinocytes. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, 126:585-592, 2002.
10. Kang, M. K., Kameta, A., Shin, K.-H. Baluda, M. A. and Park, N.-H.: Senescence-Associated Genes in Normal Human Oral Keratinocytes. Experimental Cell Res, 287:272-281, 2003.
    

Additional Information

My goal is to see the UCLA School of Dentistry become the premier Dental School in the United States. Actually, we are not far from that realization what with our superior faculty, the high caliber of our students and our caring staff. Our laboratories are being updated and our information technology has been fine-tuned. We are making our mark in grant awards and our research is some of the best in the world. A student entering our School for the first year can rest assured that at the end of four years, he/she will have received an outstanding education that will enable him/her to go anywhere to practice dentistry. We can only get better and the vision I have for the UCLA School of Dentistry is well within our grasp.