Ryu Wang-shick, an infectious disease expert in South Korea, was named the new chief executive officer of Institut Pasteur Korea, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning announced Monday.

Ryu, who holds a Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin-Madison, has worked in close partnership with the IPK on research on the hepatitis B virus and other infectious diseases for more than a decade. 

He is the first Korean expert to lead the institution.

“New emerging viruses like avian influenza, MERS virus, Zika virus and etc. have been enormously damaging nationally and internationally,” Ryu said. “As a global basic research institute, we will accelerate infectious diseases and drug discovery research through collaborations with national and international organizations.”

The IPK was established in April 2004 in collaboration with Institut Pasteur Paris and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.

By Song Su-hyun  (song@heraldcorp.com)