Zang-Hee Cho was born in Seoul, Korea, in 1936. He attended Seoul National University and graduated with a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in 1960 and 1962, respectively. He continued his study at Uppsala University (Sweden) and obtaining his Ph.D. in 1966. Before he joined UCI in 1985, Dr. Cho had faculty positions at the University of Stockholm, University of California-Los Angeles, and Columbia University.
Important milestones in modern neuroscience must include the development of techniques and devices with which one can observe changes in brain chemistry and physiology, such as blood flow and chemical changes. Some of the most recent developments are Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Through these developments, it is now possible to observe cortical changes in the brain due to internal as well as external stimuli such as light flashes and acupuncture as well as the human minds.
Professor Cho has been in this area since the inception of the computerized tomography (CT) in 1972. He was one who pioneered mathematical algorithms related to CT scanners and developed one of the first 3-D image reconstruction algorithms. Dr. Cho's subsequent work based on 3-D image reconstruction was the first "Ring PET" and its nuclear detector "Bismuth Germanate Oxide (BGO)", both of which revolutionized modern brain-imaging. Today, invariably all PET scanners, both research prototypes and commercial devices, are "Ring" types with "BGO" nuclear scintillation detectors. Today's high resolution PET scanners are a reality, thanks to the introduction of these two key elements, i.e., introduction of the "Ring" concept and "BGO" detector into the field of PET.
Since the late 1970's, Dr. Cho has been engaged in MRI research and has developed numerous high-speed imaging techniques and methods essential for today's fMRI such as the "Spiral Scan Echo Planar" technique and MRI venography using the magnetic susceptibility effect produced by deoxyhemoglobin. These techniques are the essential components of today's brain functional imaging.
More recently, as an application of functional brain imaging, Dr. Cho pioneered Acupuncture - Brain Imaging, a new approach to Oriental medicine by utilizing the latest imaging techniques, such as PET and fMRI. This study, for the first time, demonstrated that there is a correlation between acupuncture stimulation and activation of the corresponding brain cortex and opened a new research avenue for the complementary and alternative medicine.
Finally, Dr. Cho's life-long contributions to the areas of Computerized Tomography and related imaging physics has changed the course of modern medical imaging and profoundly influenced modern neuroscience research. For these contributions, Dr. Cho was made a Distinguished Medical Imaging Scientist at the Computerized Tomography Symposium held at Asilomar, California in 1982 which recognized Dr. Cho, not only as the inventor of PET and a pioneer of computerized tompgraphy but also as one of the most cited scientists in the field of CT and medical imaging at the time. Lastly among the numerous honors and awards he has received, Dr. Cho was elected members of the US National Academy of Sciences- Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, Korea and The Third World Academy of Sciences. Professor Cho is the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Imaging System and Technology, John Wiley & Sons and also serves as a half dozen of Editorial Board Members of various scientific journals related to imaging. He is currently serves as a member of National Advisory Council for the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Washington D.C.
Title of Lecture: "Positron Tomograph - The Brain Machine "