My visit to U.S. for training amid COVID-19 pandemic

“After over a year of living in the United States, which was just like a “dream”, I am writing this memoir. I had a lot to prepare for 1-2 years before I left for the US. I have been constantly given many things to think about throughout the preparation period, and it seems that I must face difficult choices every time. I remember that the six months preparation period before going to the United States was probably more difficult than living in the United States for a year. After a lot of twists and turns, my family and I took a plane to the U.S. to study at The Scripts Research Institute (TSRI) Shiley Center for Orthopedic Research & Education (SCORE) at Scripps Clinic in San Diego, California, in February 2020. TSRI is one of the leading private laboratories in the United States, consisting of several Scripts General Hospital and laboratories. I was pleased to work as a visiting scholar in the Scripps lab under supervision by Professor Darryl D'Lima of the Department of Molecular Medicine. He is a renowned orthopedic surgeon majoring in knee joint surgery and currently working on basic science research and laboratory management. Dr. D'Lima's lab is operated under the name of TSRI SCORE, mainly studying knee Joint's cartilge and meniscus. His biggest theme was 3D-Bioprinting research for cartage and meniscal tissue engineering of the knee joint. From the attempt to make the entire meniscus with tissue engineering only to bioprinting technology, it seems to be still a long way until being applied to actual clinical practice, and many talks and plans discussed by the researchers in the actual lab meeting were somewhat unrealistic. However, it was very exciting to see that the problems occurring in their research processes are set as new sub-topics, and they are trying to solve them step-by-step and developing their technology by intensively researching for more than 10 years for a big topic (“making new tissue”). That was impressive. In this atmosphere, I conducted an experiment and studies on the theme of "Electrospun nanofiber scafold for superior capsule reconstruction in massive rotator cuff tears" with the help of Prof. D’Lima and other researchers Dr. Arnold Pare (a visiting scholar from France), Erik Dorthe and Austin Williams. Thank you, guys.

The only and biggest problem with a year of my staying in the U.S. was the COVID-19 Pandemic. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases suddenly surged in the U.S., and when California Governor's stay at home order was issued in early March, our Lab, restaurants and parks were closed, and even children's schools. My family and I got in a panic at that time. Nonetheless, starting the summer camp at the end of June, the children's school was run almost normally, and rather the children were exposed to a truly wonderful American education system, learning from school and making their American life fun and happy. Although the several times of shutdown of our lab was unfortunate for me, I was also able to spend more time with my family and it was an important and thankful opportunity for us to work together. I remember the cobalt-blue sea of San Diego beach that I could see just a 10-minute drive from my home, the blue and taller San Diego sky, the Avino apartment with a pretty swimming pool and steak grill, Torrey Pines golf course that I enjoyed by being possessed by Tiger Woods at the 2008 US Open, the cheap and high-quality California wines I met at Ralphs supermarket, the Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon, and the kind people I met along the way. All remain as unforgettable memories. I can’t wait to visit there again. Thank you.”

Tae-Kang Lim, MD, PhD
Nowon Eulji Medical Center, Eulji University School of Medicine, Seoul