Dr. No-Hee Park, dean emeritus of the UCLA School of Dentistry and distinguished professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, recently released his autobiography, “Turning Points: Moments That Shaped Me.”
The book not only traces Park’s five-decade career in higher education but also his upbringing in war-torn South Korea, emigration to the U.S. in 1974, and the learnings, successes and challenges experienced along this journey. “Turning Points” includes a foreword by his UCLA successor as UCLA Dentistry dean, Paul Krebsbach.
Park, the dental school’s longest-serving dean (1998–2016) is also a distinguished professor of dentistry whose academic resume includes more than 200 peer‑reviewed publications and over $70 million in National Institutes of Health and foundation funding for his work.
“I have chosen to publish this autobiography to preserve a thoughtful reflection of my personal journey — the experiences that shaped me, the individuals who guided me and the resilience that carried me through times of adversity,” Park said. “I also wish to inspire those committed to scientific discovery and leadership in higher education, particularly within the health sciences.”
Park has made seminal contributions to understanding molecular mechanisms of oral and head‑neck cancers, particularly the roles of HPV, cellular aging, telomerase activation and chromosomal instability. He established many widely used in vitro cancer cell lines and has extended his research into chronic inflammation’s impact on atherosclerosis and Alzheimer’s using animal models. Highlighting many career honors, Park has been named an International Association of Dental Research Distinguished Scientist, an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow.
Having mentored more than 100 students, postdoctoral fellows and visiting scholars in his career, Park was recognized with the 2022 American Association of Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research Irwin D. Mandel Distinguished Mentoring Award winner. Many of his former trainees have gone on to become leaders in research and teaching institutions around the world.
