I am Nam-Jong Paik, a Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. My academic background includes an M.D. from Seoul National University and a Ph.D. in preventive medicine from the same institution, along with residency training in rehabilitation medicine at the Seoul National University Hospital. I also completed a 2-year clinical fellowship in neurorehabilitation and clinical neurophysiology at SNUH and a visiting fellowship at the Human Cortical Physiology Section of the NIH/NINDS.

I have served in various administrative positions at the hospital, including President & CEO, Chief Public Health Officer, Chief Finance & Strategic Officer, Chief Communications Officer, Director of the Referral Center, and the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. At the medical college, I also held the position of Chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine.

On the academic front, I am currently the President-Elect of the World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation and serve as the editor for the ‘Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine.’ Additionally, I am a member of the National Academy of Medicine of Korea, serve as the Chair of the Korean Telemedicine Society, and sit on the board of directors for the Korean Society for NeuroRehabilitation. In the past, I served as the member-at-large of the World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation, the first president of the Asia-Oceanian Society for NeuroRehabilitation, and the Chair of the Korean Society for NeuroRehabilitation.

My contributions to the field have been recognized with several awards, including the 2019 Seok-Jeon Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2014 Scientific Award from the Korean Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine, the Fletcher H. McDowell Award from the American Society for Neurorehabilitation in 2007, and the First Place Poster Award from the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine in 2009.

Research Interests

My research focuses on developing innovative approaches to restore function in humans and understand the underlying mechanisms, with a particular emphasis on improving the function of patients with stroke. 

I investigate a wide range of symptoms, including weakness, sensory loss, dysphagia, spasticity, cognitive dysfunction, excretory dysfunction, pain, and more.

My primary research interest lies in brain plasticity and developing effective therapeutic strategies to enhance function and learning ability in stroke patients. To achieve this, I employ various neuromodulation techniques, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and brain-computer interface (BCI). I am also exploring the potential applications of robots, virtual reality, digital-health, and telemedicine in neurorehabilitation.

You can learn more about my recent publications and invited lectures by visiting the links provided below.

Selected Publications – Link

Invited Lectures – Link