On February 26 a ceremony was held in Pyongyang, the capital of the DPRK, for awarding the February 16 Science and Technology Prize, Natural Science Prize, Technical Innovation Prize, diploma of best scientist and technician of the state and top inventor prize.

Among the winners was Prof. Pak Song Jin, PhD, chief of the Institute of Chemical Biology of University of Sciences and a meritorious person of socialist patriotism.

For the first time in the country he established the technical process and method to get porphyrin bioactive materials such as protoporphyrin and porfimer from animal blood. He also developed new advanced biological medicines and successfully introduced them into hepatic disease and cancer treatment and radioactive damage prevention.

Porphyrin is a natural bioactive material extracted from animal blood with a high degree of purity. The material which can be used in the natural state or in the state of a functional group of modification and polymer, has a remarkable bearing on treating hepatic diseases, preventing radioactive damages and resisting inflammation, viruses and oxidation. In particular, it can be used as a selective photosensitizer in the cancer treatment. That’s why it draws global attention in the field of bio-pharmacy.

Scores of years ago he began to work on medicines conducive to biological treatment of cancerous and hepatic diseases, pressing issues facing the health sector.

So far he has developed five kinds of porphyrin biological medicines and they all have been registered as world-class national medical supplies and their manufacturing techniques as national inventions and patents. For this, he was awarded five certificates of state registration of sci-tech achievement and introduction.

His method of manufacturing protoporphyrini natrium from animal blood earned him a national patent in 2006.

He wrote a reference book “Interesting Light Functional Porphyrin” on his studies of the techniques of manufacturing protoporphyrin and porfimer and their application and a textbook “Molecular Biology on Cancers and Aging.” Both of the academic achievements were granted national copyrights in 2014 and 2019 respectively. In addition, he developed protoporphyrin hepatitis injection and porfimer injection.

From ten years ago he applied advanced radioactive and laser light mechanical therapies for cancer into clinical practice which proved successful.

He was born and grew up in Pyongyang. In 1986 he graduated summa cum laude from the genetics department of the Faculty of Biology of University of Sciences and finished the postgraduate course. He started his career as a research student at his alma mater. Later he became a teacher and then head of a department.

In the senior year he was the first in the university to receive Kim Il Sung scholarship. In August 1986 he attended the national conference of university and college students with the best academic performance. During his university days he was awarded an official commendation.

When he was 29, he took part in the academic exchange at a prestigious foreign university as a member of a delegation of the educational workers of genetic engineering.

Now he teaches molecular biology, nanobiology, biochemistry and other subjects. He got an MSc in his 20s and associate professorship and PhD in his 30s. He has made substantial contributions to training talented scientists and scientific research.

Several of his papers including “Folate-modified Porfimer Nanoparticle for Radiosensitized Therapy of Cancer” were published in famous foreign journals.

Numerous technical products and production techniques developed by his institute in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, fish farming, light industry and medical sciences have been introduced into several industrial establishments across the country, proving contributive to the development of the national economy. All members of the institute hold academic degrees and titles.

He is recognized as an authority on biological studies of protoporphyrin.

He says that when a scientist displays creative thinking and extraordinary spirit of inquiry on the road for the country and people, he will find the worth and value of his life and can exalt his honour as a scientist.

Yang Ryon Hui