An international symposium on precision oncology, with a focus on the possibility of conquering cancer through genome-based precision medical care, will be hosted by UNIST. Jointly organized by UNIST, Asan Medical Center, and the Institute of Basic Science (IBS), the ‘HST Symposium on Precision Oncology 2023‘ is scheduled to take place at UNIST Haedong Hall on October 10, 2023.
Esteemed scholars and clinical experts from Asan Medical Center (AMC), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), and Bern University will come together for this highly anticipated symposium. The event aims to facilitate the exchange of the latest research achievements and technologies in the field of precision oncology. The symposium will be broadcasted live via the Official YouTube channel of UNIST (https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCu8iCQRAOl1Miv-BJIgbCww), enabling global participation.
Professor Shana Sturla from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich, Switzerland) is presenting at the symposium.
The symposium will consist of two parts. The first part will feature presentations by Professor Shana Sturla at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich, Switzerland), Research Fellow Dmitry Ivanov of IBS Center for Genomic Integrity at UNIST, and Professor Seong Woo Cho of UNIST. These speakers will discuss topics, such as ‘Mechanisms of DNA Damage and Repair,’ ‘Genetic Factors in Anticancer Drug Resistance in Brain Tumors,’ as well as the latest anticancer treatments utilizing CRISPR-Cas9 genetic scissors. Associate Director Orlando D. Schärer of IBS Center for Genomic Integrity will take the top of the table of the first session.
The second part will focus on the application status and development potential of precision oncology in real medical settings. Distinguished speakers, including Professor Kyunggon Kim from Asan Medical Center’s Convergence Medicine Research Center, Professor DeokHoon Kim from Asan Medical Center, and Professor Mark Rubin from the University of Bern, Switzerland will share their expertise. Dean Sung Chul Bae of UNIST Graduate School of Health Science and Technology will chair this section. Topics to be discussed include the application of proteomics on clinical specimens for the discovery of drug targets and biomarkers, the clinical use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) data, and a novel perspective on the correlation between micro-damage of DNA introns and cancer incidence presented by Professor Mark Rubin.
Group photograph taken at the ‘UNIST HST Symposium on Precision Oncology 2023’ on October 10, 2023.
Prominent figures attending the symposium include Director Chong Jai Kim of Asan Institute for Life Sciences at Asan Medical Center, Director Kyungjae Myung of IBS Center for Genomic Integrity at UNIST, Department Chair Hyung Joon Cho of Biomedical Engineering at UNIST, Department Head Jaeheung Cho of Chemistry, Professor Kyemyung Park at UNIST Graduate School of Health Science and Technology, and Professor Min Hyuk Lim.
Meanwhile, UNIST has been operating the Health Sciences and Technology (HST) program jointly with the University of Ulsan College of Medicine since September 2023. In line with this, the UNIST Graduate School of Health Science and Technology was established to further enhance talent training in the HST program. UNIST also plans to expand cooperation in advanced bio research with the Asan Institute for Life Sciences at Asan Medical Center, an affiliated hospital of the University of Ulsan College of Medicine. The field of precision oncology, which focuses on identifying the causes and therapeutic targets of cancer in the genome, represents a potential area of collaboration between the two institutions.
Dean Sung Chul Bae of UNIST Graduate School of Health Science and Technology, who hosted the symposium, emphasized the importance of collaboration between academia and clinical practice in high-tech biotechnology, such as precision oncology. He added, “Through this symposium, we aim to establish a solid foundation for collaboration with both domestic and international researchers and clinical institutions.”