1996 Annual Report
Sungshin Choi, Ph.D.
For Sungshin Choi, moving back to Palo Alto in 1994 was a dual homecoming--to her family and to the PAMF Research Institute.
Dr. Choi had just spent two years separated from her husband, Jeong,and their child, Christine, now 6, while she worked as a scientist at Columbia University in New York and he was an electrical engineer in the Palo Alto area and kept the homefront. She had earlier spent four years at the Institute doing postdoctoral studies.
"My boss was generous enough to allow me to come to California once a month. We had a hard time for two years, so it was great that I could just come here and start," she says. They now have a second child, Catherine, 2.
Dr. Choi is a native of Seoul, Korea, where her relatives still live--except for a brother who recently received his Ph.D. in Wisconsin. She received her Ph.D. in nutrition in 1988 from the University of California, Berkeley.
Her father, Woon Whan Yeo, a retired university administrator, originally recommended she study human nutrition, and she began studies at Yon SeiUniversity in Seoul. She transferred in 1981 to New York University, and received her master's degree in 1984 before moving to UC Berkeley. She and Jeong were married in 1987.
After getting her Ph.D., she became a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Gastroenterology at Stanford University School of Medicine, doing research studies under Allen D. Cooper, M.D., Director of the PAMF Research Institute--who holds a joint appointment with the Medical School. She worked at the Institute in Dr. Cooper's Department of Cardiovascular Biology, exploring how diet-derived cholesterol is metabolized (processed) by the body.
The postdoctoral program is a practical transition, she says. "After you get your Ph.D., you feel like you need more training and experience,"and background that can be valuable when a young scientist competes for National Institutes of Health (NIH) funds.
Dr. Choi soon had her first scientific paper published--describing the role of the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor in the metabolism of diet-derived cholesterol. "I was very excited," she recalls. "It was hard to believe it was my own paper. ...It is very different when you see it in print." The paper explored the hypothesis that cholesterol-containing lipoproteins from the diet are removed by specific molecules, called receptors, that are present in the liver.
After four years at the Institute, in late 1992, she and Jeong began discussing jobs in New York. Her job came through quickly, and she moved there thinking he would soon follow. But his job never materialized--and their separation began.
Her current position is research associate in Cardiovascular Biology, once again working with Dr. Cooper and his team--but not with one former colleague: Dr. Michael Komaromy, a young scientist who died suddenly in late 1995. She is probing an area in which he was expert: the study of an enzyme called hepatic lipase that plays a key role in cholesterol metabolism.
"The first time I came here, he was one of the people who helped me. It would have been a great collaboration, and he is the one I am missing most. One reason I came here again is there is such a great team. Everybody is so nice; it is like a family."
The hypothesis she is now exploring is that hepatic lipase is involved in the uptake of LDL (the so-called "bad cholesterol") from the bloodstream. If true, someone with a genetically high production of the enzyme would have lower cholesterol levels than someone with low production--given the same diet.
On her return, Dr. Choi was funded under a one-year NIH-funded grant from the Stanford Digestive Disease Center. "Just last month I heard that my NIH grant is going to get funded for the next five years," she says--also a major thrill.
Most research today is at the molecular level, and the style of research has changed even since she began her postdoctoral work. More work is done on computers, and collaboration is often by email. Results of basic research will directly impact patient care: "When you apply results of research to humans, it helps physicians know more precisely what is wrong and how to treat it," she explains.
In her own family, Dr. Choi strikes a balance. Even though she and her husband have low cholesterol, "we try not to eat foods that are high in cholesterol. It's important for the kids, too, that we keep away from fatty foods, so they pick up good eating habits." She creates traditional Korean dishes so their children get to appreciate the taste--even though the diet in today's Korea is shifting. "I went to Korea recently and was amazed--name any fast food and it is there." The consequences in terms of health "are going to be pretty bad," she fears.
The Palo Alto Duck Pond--where many generations of Palo Alto area parents have taken children to feed the ducks--is a favorite weekend destination. "We are so busy, with our work and the two kids...," she says. "The kids are high maintenance, but they are our greatest pleasure."