July 19, 2016

Yoon-Jae "Jae" Cho, M.D. '98, was recently appointed the inaugural holder of the Ericksen Family Endowed Professorship for Research. School of Medicine Dean Mark Richardson and OHSU Provost Jeanette Mladenovic presided over an investiture in late June attended by Dr. Cho and his family, members of the Ericksen family, faculty members and leaders from the OHSU and Doernbecher Foundations.

Dr. Cho is familiar with OHSU, having earned his M.D. here in 1998. He and his wife, Krysta Schlis, M.D. '01, were both recently recruited to join the OHSU faculty. Dr. Cho is also head of the Division of Pediatric Neurology in the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Schlis, a 2001 School of Medicine M.D. graduate, is assistant professor of pediatrics.

Prior to returning to OHSU, Dr. Cho was a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, where he cared for patients at Boston Children's Hospital, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and most recently the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University. His work is focused on two of the most lethal pediatric brain tumors – medulloblastoma and pediatric high-grade glioma. His lab discovered that medulloblastomas, which were traditionally considered one disease, are actually four distinct diseases. Dr. Cho aims to understand the molecular and cellular components of brain tumors, identify their vulnerabilities and develop and implement more precise treatment strategies for patients with these diseases.

This endowed faculty position was made possible by Wayne and Sandy Ericksen. The Ericksen family has a strong commitment to Oregon and is dedicated to supporting numerous medical research initiatives at OHSU, where they feel research progress will make a significant impact on the lives of Oregonians.

"This investiture signifies how pivotal collaboration is to medical research progress and is a shining example of the role of philanthropy in our collective endeavor to improve the health of Oregonians," said Dean Richardson. "OHSU and the School of Medicine are deeply grateful for the generosity of the Ericksen family."

Pictured top (left to right): Wayne Ericksen, Sandy Ericksen, Dr. Cho and Dean Mark Richardson.

Picture bottom (left): Dr. Cho addresses attendees of the ceremony; (right) the endowed faculty position is memorialized with chairs bearing the professorship's name.