Research Field
lung cancer
esophageal cancer
thymic epithelial tumor
minimally invasive surgery
robotic surgery
spatial biology
spatial transcriptomics
single cell RNA sequencing
biomarker
organoid
precision medicine
multi-omics
immunotherapy
minimal residual disease
circulating tumor DNA
Brief Summary
As a thoracic surgeon-scientist in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at Seoul National University Hospital, I specialize in the surgical and multidisciplinary treatment of thoracic malignancies, including lung cancer, esophageal cancer, thymic tumors, and mediastinal tumors. My research aims to advance precision medicine in thoracic oncology. Clinically, I focus on improving the safety and long-term outcomes of minimally invasive and robotic surgery, as well as optimizing perioperative multidisciplinary treatment strategies including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy. Translationally, I integrate a thoracic tumor biobank with clinical information, surgical tissues, blood specimens, and long-term follow-up data. Using ctDNA-based liquid biopsy, I seek to develop biomarkers for minimal residual disease, early recurrence, treatment response, and prognosis, with the goal of informing surveillance, risk stratification, and adjuvant treatment decisions. I also combine spatial transcriptomics, single-cell and multi-omics analyses, digital pathology, and artificial intelligence to investigate the tumor microenvironment, immune response, tumor heterogeneity, metastasis, and treatment resistance. In addition, our team establishes patient-derived organoids from normal and cancer tissues and applies them to drug response testing, toxicity prediction, therapeutic target validation, and exploration of combination treatment strategies. Ultimately, I aim to connect surgical practice with advanced translational platforms to support prognostic prediction, personalized therapy, and novel drug development in precision surgical oncology.