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We play with stem cells!We innovate cancer treatment!

Overview

The ultimate goal of our research is to help people live longer and healthier. Preventing death and repairing the aged/diseased organs are essential to achieve this goal. Cancer is the most common cause of death, and organ failure is the most common feature of aging-related diseases. Therefore, regenerative medicine and cancer precision medicine are key areas of convergence biomedical research to prolong human life in the era of 4th industrial revolution.

Our mission is to make innovative and ground-breaking, convergence stem cell and cancer research and translate our research discoveries for the improvement of health and the cure of diseases. The core values of our research group include highest level of professionalism, creativity, innovation, integrity, motivation, resilience, mutual care and team-work. With this mission and core values in mind, we study these three inter-connected and synergizing research areas of

(1) Stem cell biology & regenerative medicine,

(2) Cancer biology & precision medicine,

(3) Aging & anti-aging medicine.

Lab with K-BioX

Research Summary

Central questions: What are the role of recurrent mutations in stem cell self-renewal, cancer pathogenesis,

and cancer therapeutic resistance?

Stem cells and cancers are tightly inter-related. Stem cells are oftentimes are the cell of origin for cancers. Also cancers have a subpopulation of cells, so called cancer stem cells (CSCs, a.k.a. tumor-initiating cells), which have stem cell-like characteristics and are considered the source of cancer recurrence. On the other hand, cancer is one of major aging diseases, and stem cells and stem-cell derived organs are the potential sources for anti-aging medicine. Therefore, stem cell research and cancer research are cross-connected and mutually applicable.

Our detailed research focuses include, but are not limited to,

I. Identification of tissue stem cells and their self-renewal mechanisms Still many tissue stem cells have not been identified. Furthermore, stem cell self-renewal and expansion are invaluable for regenerative medicine. We have extensive experience and expertise in these areas and will continue to achieve original and more significant research findings to identify and expand stem cells for regenerative medicine.

- We have for the first time identified human and mouse esophageal stem cells (Jeong et al, Gut, 2016), and we are currently trying to identify other tissue stem cells.

II. Organogenesis The ultimate goal of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine is to generate micro-, mini-, and macro-organ to be used for organ transplantation. Although some researchers including our group succeeded in generating epithelial organoids and some of micro-organs derived from ESCs or iPSCs, the destination is still far to reach. We have built up strong experiences and expertise in epithelial stem cell biology and gear up toward organogenesis.

- As the first step toward organogenesis, we have built up our expertise in organoid culture. We have for the first timedeveloped human and mouse esophageal organoids (Jeong et al, Gut, 2016) and other organoids (to be reported). We are also using a lot of other organoids including tracheal and lung organoids (Jeong et al, Cancer Discovery, 2017), and also tumor organoids.

- We are currently trying to develop mini-organs.

III. Development of targeted therapies for cancers Individualized precision medicine will ultimately refine and maximize the cancer treatment effect and minimize the side effects. We have shown that mutations in Keap1-Nrf2 anti-oxidant pathway promote the pathogenesis of lung squamous cell carcinoma by deregulating airway stem cell self-renewal. We further demonstrated that KEAP1/NRF2 mutations confer lung cancers therapeutic resistance and that genetic pre-screening of the mutation status of lung cancers could help us predict cancer recurrence (Jeong et al, Cancer Discovery, 2017). Now we aim to develop novel therapies precisely targeting KEAP1/NRF2 mutant cancers and cancers with other mutations.

IV. Targeting cancer stem cells (CSCs)- You have to remove the root if you want to get rid of weeds. Likewise, CSC theory suggests that we need to eliminate CSCs to cure cancers. CSCs are a subpopulation of cancer cells with the stem cell-like characteristics and are more resistant to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. We are particularly interested in identifying and targeting CSCs in head and neck and lung cancers.

V. Tumor immunology

- Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and Natural Killer (NK) cells are two major players in tumor immunology. We are interested in regulatory pathways of CTLs and NK cells' activation. By modulating those pathways, we aim to develop novel drugs or therapies against cancers.

VI. Stem cell therapy in lung fibrosis- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is one of the representative aging diseases. IPF is a progressive, restrictive lung disease. In IPF, lung epithelium becomes thickened and scarred, impairing gas exchange. However, the role of lung stem cells and their niche in IPF pathogenesis has not been well understood. Thus, we aim to further elucidate the role of lung stem cells in IPF pathogenesis and treatment.

Youngtae Jeong (), M.D., Ph.D.

Principal Investigator,Assistant Professor

Department of New Biology atDGIST

Office: E5-311

Tel: +82-53-785-1620

Email: jyt@dgist.ac.kr

Education and Training

1995-2001 M.D., Seoul National University College of Medicine

2001-2002 Intern, Seoul National University Hospital

2005-2009 Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Professional Experiences

2009-2010 Postdoc, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research (MIT)

2010-2015 Podstoc, Stanford University Cancer Institute

2015-2018 Instructor, Stanford Univ. Department of Radiation Oncology

2018-Current, Assistant Professor, DGIST Department of New Biology

Honors and Awards (Selected)

2020 DGIST Outstanding Research Award

2019 Outstanding Abstract Award, Korean Cancer Association

2016 Abstract Award, Cleveland Cancer Stem Cell Conference

2016 Travel Award, FASEB Science Research Conference

2014 ECFMG Certificate (US Medical License)

2012 Travel Award, Freston Conference

2008 Korean Honor Scholarship, Embassy of Korea, Washington D.C.

2000 Outstanding Field Research Award, LG Global Challenger Program

International Fellowships and Grants

2012-2015 California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

2012 Stanford University School of Medicine

2008-2009 American Heart Association

Byungmoo Oh (), Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Education and Training

B.A., Chungbuk National University, Korea

Ph.D., University of Science and Technology, Korea

bmoh@dgist.ac.kr

Baul Lee (), Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Education and Training

B.A., Sahmyook University, Korea

Ph.D., SeoulNational University, Korea

Licensed Pharmacist in Korea (2012)

paul36@dgist.ac.kr

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