Key Points
- Dr. Bae recently became the first female faculty member in Sogang University’s school of engineering.
- Learn more about her research and experience as a pioneer for women in the field.
When Sua Bae, PhD, joined the faculty of Sogang University in Seoul, Korea, as assistant professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering this fall, she made history as not only the first female faculty member in her department but also the first female faculty of the entire school of engineering. Returning to her alma mater, Dr. Bae completed her undergraduate, masters, and graduate studies in electronic engineering at Sogang.
Before accepting this faculty position, she completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Columbia University in the Ultrasound Elasticity Imaging Laboratory led by Elisa Konofagou, PhD. We recently spoke with Dr. Bae about her research and her experience as a pioneer for women in the field.
How did you become interested in focused ultrasound research?
When I was completing my PhD, I worked on a high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) project measuring the elasticity of treated tissue after uterine fibroid ablation. Because HIFU ablation changes the property of the tissue, a tissue’s elasticity can help determine the success of the ablation. I was developing an elasticity algorithm.
What made you apply to Columbia?
After doing further reading and research, I realized that there were brain applications for focused ultrasound, and that intrigued me. I heard Dr. Konofagou speak at a few different conferences, and that is how I learned that her team was doing very interesting research in the brain. I had never had any female professors in engineering, so her path in the field was also quite inspiring to me. I reached out and contacted Dr. Konofagou directly and then applied and interviewed for the postdoctoral research position.
Tell us about your research in Dr. Konofagou’s laboratory.
I worked on a six-patient safety and feasibility clinical trial using Columbia’s portable device and monitoring system to disrupt the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. With this device, we used a passive acoustic mapping system to map the treatment in real time. My scientific contribution was to develop an algorithm that could produce a better resolution image and monitor the cavitation dose with significantly less computational burden. We were able to use my algorithm for the last four patients in the study. The results from this clinical trial were published in Theranostics, and my paper on the algorithm was published in IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.
I also helped with another clinical study testing BBB opening in children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (often called DIPG or DMG). We used the same portable device, but in this study, we completed three focused ultrasound sessions combined with an intravenous drug each week. Because we had so many sessions, we learned more about the kind of monitoring we needed and could test the algorithm alongside MRI data to better predict the success of a treatment session.
How did the faculty position at Sogang University come about?
I had never had a female professor during my years studying at Sogang, so I didn’t even think about becoming a professor here. However, the opportunity arose because they were looking for a professor with experience in brain therapy, and I was a good candidate. I was very lucky and happy to get this opportunity.
I also think the school is aware of the need for greater faculty diversity; but when I asked, they would say that there are so few qualified female candidates. I think this is a good point, because in my own experience, 10-20% of my fellow undergraduate students in the engineering department were female, but when I entered graduate school and then started my PhD, the number of female students decreased dramatically. It was rare to see other female graduate students in my department.
Why do you think there are so few women pursuing advanced degrees in the sciences?
In Korea, there is more societal pressure for young people to get married and start families compared with Western cultures. Most of my friends and colleagues were getting married and following a very typical path in the Korean culture. I noticed with my male colleagues that stayed in academia that they typically married early, and their wives would support them in their career.
How was that experience for you?
I was feeling a bit lost, especially at the beginning of my postdoc, because I didn’t know any Korean women in my field who were pursuing academic goals in America. When I went to America to join Dr. Konofagou’s team, I was alone, and it was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a challenging time because I couldn’t easily make friends because of the restrictions, and I felt so uncertain about my life’s path.
After the restrictions lifted, I was able to make more friends, and the BBB opening work was very exciting. I was able to see my own algorithm used in real patient treatments, and seeing improvements in the clinical studies was inspiring.
How has your experience been since returning to Sogang University?
I moved home to Korea in August of 2024, and I started my first semester as a member of the faculty in September. The department has been very welcoming because they remember me. I am working with many of my former professors! In our department, we are required to do both teaching and research. I am currently teaching engineering mathematics at the sophomore level.
What is on your research wish list?
I want to continue my focused ultrasound research, slightly adapting it to align with the field of electronic engineering, where I’m currently based. I plan to begin developing a portable, home-care focused ultrasound device to ease the burden of hospital visits for patients. There is another faculty member in our department who is developing a portable diagnostic ultrasound machine. I would like to collaborate with him to make a home-care device using a patch, like for neuromodulation or even BBB opening. Obviously, there are many technical challenges with this project, but its impact on patients could be really significant.
Do you have any female students in your classes or laboratory?
Not now, but I will next semester. I interviewed them just recently, so I’m excited.
What do you hope your impact will be at Sogang?
I hope I am able to be a role model for the female students. I want them to be able to see that there are opportunities for women in academia. I think I could give good advice to them. I have long admired other female pioneers in focused ultrasound, including Dr. Konofagou and Hong Chen, PhD. I hope I am able to be a mentor to the next generation.