On behalf of the organizing committee, and Cardiology of Seoul National University Hospital, I am both delighted and honored to welcome all of you to the 1st Seoul Conference on Cardiovascular Research. This conference will feature lectures from many leading scientists and doctors from Korea and all over the world on various fields of cardiovascular research including stem cells, angiogenesis, hypertension, heart failure, and vascular biology. In Korea, mortality from coronary heart disease has increased 10 times in the past two decades,

and currently, more than 20,000 percutaneous coronary interventions, and 2,000 bypass surgeries are performed annually. Even more patients are suffering from heart failure and the increasing numbers are staggering. Therefore, it is more than timely that Korean researchers focus on measures to improve mortality and morbidity of these patients, not from a clinical point of view, but from a more basic approach. At the present, many groups in Korea, are each performing wonderful research that will be shared in this conference. Along with these groups, we have invited world renowned scientists and doctors from abroad, each of whom are leaders in their respective research fields to share with us some of their interesting and new advances. I would like to extend our deepest thanks and gratitude to the many speakers for their wonderful contribution to this conference. I hope that the 1st Seoul Conference on Cardiovascular Research will serve as a forum where leading scientists, scholars, and doctors interested in cutting edge cardiovascular research from all over the world, may gather together to exchange ideas, build firm friendships, and share some of the wonderful advanced research that is being done in each other¡¯s respective fields. I am sure that the intense discussions and exchange of knowledge and ideas that will be going on in this conference will contribute greatly to the advancement of cardiovascular research both here in Korea and around the world. Thank you.