A high-profile research partner of stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk returned to her work at Seoul National University Hospital Monday, following a two-week absence.

Ahn Kyu-ri, a professor at the university’s medical school, expressed regret for having caused grief among patients and their families over the crisis surrounding Hwang, adding that she would not be able to see patients for the time being.

The former attending physician of Hwang said she had cancelled scheduled overseas training, saying she may be able to resume the training after all suspicions concerning the stem cell scandal are cleared.

Ahn stressed that she did not know anything about the fabrication of Hwang’s 2005 thesis published in the journal Science.