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The new era of personalized cancer diagnosis and treatment
Professor Tae-Young Yoon
- Succeeded in observing carcinogenic protein at the molecular level
- “Paved the way to customized cancer treatment through accurate analysis of carcinogenic protein”
The joint KAIST research team of Professor Tae Young Yoon of the Department of Physics and Professor Won Do Huh of the Department of Biological Sciences have developed the technology to monitor characteristics of carcinogenic protein in cancer tissue – for the first time in the world.
The technology makes it possible to analyse the mechanism of cancer development through a small amount of carcinogenic protein from a cancer patient. Therefore, a personalised approach to diagnosis and treatment using the knowledge of the specific mechanism of cancer development in the patient may be possible in the future.
Until recently, modern medicine could only speculate on the cause of cancer through statistics. Although developed countries, such as the United States, are known to use a large sequencing technology that analyses the patient’s DNA, identification of the interactions between proteins responsible for causing cancer remained an unanswered question for a long time in medicine.
Firstly, Professor Yoon’s research team has developed a fluorescent microscope that can observe even a single molecule. Then, the “Immunoprecipitation method”, a technology to extract a specific protein exploiting the high affinity between antigens and antibodies was developed. Using this technology and the microscope, “Real-Time Single Molecule co-Immunoprecipitation Method” was created. In this way, the team succeeded in observing the interactions between carcinogenic and other proteins at a molecular level, in real time.
To validate the developed technology, the team investigated Ras, a carcinogenic protein; its mutation statistically is known to cause around 30% of cancers.
The experimental results confirmed that 30-50% of Ras protein was expressed in mouse tumour and human cancer cells. In normal cells, less than 5% of Ras protein was expressed. Thus, the experiment showed that unusual increase in activation of Ras protein induces cancer.
The increase in the ratio of active Ras protein can be inferred from existing research data but the measurement of specific numerical data has never been done before.
The team suggested a new molecular level diagnosis technique of identifying the progress of cancer in patients through measuring the percentage of activated carcinogenic protein in cancer tissue.
Professor Yoon Tae-young said, “This newly developed technology does not require a separate procedure of protein expression or refining, hence the existing proteins in real biological tissues or cancer cells can be observed directly.” He also said, “Since carcinogenic protein can be analyzed accurately, it has opened up the path to customized cancer treatment in the future.”
“Since the observation is possible on a molecular level, the technology confers the advantage that researchers can carry out various examinations on a small sample of the cancer patient.” He added, “The clinical trial will start in December 2012 and in a few years customized cancer diagnosis and treatment will be possible.”
Meanwhile, the research has been published in Nature Communications (February 19). Many researchers from various fields have participated, regardless of the differences in their speciality, and successfully produced interdisciplinary research. Professor Tae Young Yoon of the Department of Physics and Professors Dae Sik Lim and Won Do Huh of Biological Sciences at KAIST, and Professor Chang Bong Hyun of Computational Science of KIAS contributed to developing the technique.
Figure 1: Schematic diagram of observed interactions at the molecular level in real time using fluorescent microscope. The carcinogenic protein from a mouse tumour is fixed on the microchip, and its molecular characteristics are observed live.
Figure 2: Molecular interaction data using a molecular level fluorescent microscope. A signal in the form of spike is shown when two proteins combine. This is monitored live using an Electron Multiplying Charge Coupled Device (EMCCD). It shows signal results in bright dots.
An organism has an immune system as a defence mechanism to foreign intruders. The immune system is activated when unwanted pathogens or foreign protein are in the body. Antibodies form in recognition of the specific antigen to protect itself. Organisms evolved to form antibodies with high specificity to a certain antigen. Antibodies only react to its complementary antigens. The field of molecular biology uses the affinity between antigens and antibodies to extract specific proteins; a technology called immunoprecipitation. Even in a mixture of many proteins, the protein sought can be extracted using antibodies. Thus immunoprecipitation is widely used to detect pathogens or to extract specific proteins.
Technology co-IP is a well-known example that uses immunoprecipitation. The research on interactions between proteins uses co-IP in general. The basis of fixing the antigen on the antibody to extract antigen protein is the same as immunoprecipitation. Then, researchers inject and observe its reaction with the partner protein to observe the interactions and precipitate the antibodies. If the reaction occurs, the partner protein will be found with the antibodies in the precipitations. If not, then the partner protein will not be found. This shows that the two proteins interact.
However, the traditional co-IP can be used to infer the interactions between the two proteins although the information of the dynamics on how the reaction occurs is lost. To overcome these shortcomings, the Real-Time Single Molecule co-IP Method enables observation on individual protein level in real time. Therefore, the significance of the new technique is in making observation of interactions more direct and quantitative.
Additional Figure 1: Comparison between Conventional co-IP and Real-Time Single Molecule co-IP
2013.04.01 View 21088 -
Prof. Jong Chul Ye Appointed as the Editor of IEEE TIP
Professor Jong Chul Ye
KAIST Bio & brain engineering department’s Professor Jong Chul Ye has been appointed as the editor of the "IEEE image processing transactions (IEEE TIP, IEEE Transaction on Image Processing)’, a prominent journal in the sector of imaging and medical image processing.
Professor Ye will act as the editor in the field of medical imaging from February 2013 to January 2016, during which he will participate in examining thesis, establishing the direction of the journal and more.
Professor Jong Chul Ye was recognized for his notable work in the field of medical imaging research using compressed sensing for the development of a high resolution medical image reconstruction techniques. This technique has pioneered a new area that is applicable in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), positron emission Camcorder (PET) and brain imaging.
On the other hand, “IEEE TIP” was first published in 1992 and is currently the world’s leading authority in the field of image processing, medical imaging, image acquisition, compression and output.
2013.02.21 View 11711 -
Professor Shin In Shik First in Asia to receive Excellent Dissertation Award from IEEE RTSS
The research team lead by Professor Shin In Shik (Department of Computer Science) received the Excellent Dissertation Awardy in the IEEE RTSS out of 157 dissertations.
It is the first time a Professor under an institute in the Asia region received the Award in the RTSS field during its 33 year history.
Professor Shin had already received an Excellent Dissertation Award as a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania. Thus Professor Shin became the first and only scientist to receive the Award twice.
Professor Shin has successfully defined the scheduling method of the multicore processor which was regarded as the problem in the field of RTSS for the past decade.
Professor Shin has suggested new criteria for sorting real time tasks in parallel thereby suggesting a new scheduling method that surpasses current scheduling methods. The results are anticipated to provide new perspectives in the field of RTSS using multicore processors.
2013.01.22 View 9608
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Ph.D. students Hyowon Park and Won Ma receive Grand Prizes in Mathematics and Biology respectively.
Researchers in KAIST received best paper awards in two out of three fields at this year’s award ceremony for the “Second Annual Best Thesis Paper Award” held collectively by the Korea University Presidents’ Federation (with Chairman DaeSoon Lee) and the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (with Director GilSang Jung).
Two researchers from KAIST, Hyowon Park (Department of Mathematics) and Won Ma (Department of Biology) received best paper awards.
This prize, given by the both the Korea University Presidents’ Federation and the Korean Academy of Science and Technology since last year, is awarded to researchers and assistant professors who write the most outstanding thesis papers in the field of basic sciences.
Park, who received the best paper award this year, did research on graph braid groups. He was supervised by Professor Kihyung Ko, who received the best supervisor reward.
Ma, who received the best paper award in the field of biological science, researched about the Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder due to deficiency of the GIT1 synapse protein. His supervising professor also received the supervisor award.
The award ceremony was held in the auditorium of the S-OIL headquarters in Seoul on November 30.
Meanwhile, NASA researcher Jaehwa Lee received the best paper award in the field of earth science, and his supervising professor, Professor Jun Kim from Yonsei University who studies atmospheric science, received the best supervisor award.
2012.12.21 View 12370
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2012 Intellectual Property Rights Award Ceremony Held
The 2012 Intellectual Property Rights Award Ceremony was held at Seoul KAIST Campus.
Recipients of the award included former congressmen Kim Young Sun and Lee Jeong Hyuk, and Kim Boo Kyung researcher at Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute also representing Vooz Ltd. that created the character POOCA.
The Intellectual Property Rights Award is given to an individual or a group that succeeded in utilizing, protecting, creating, and establishment of its foundation including patent, copyright, and brand. Intellectual Property Rights is viewed as of importance for future national competitiveness.
The Award is organized by the Korea Patent Attorneys Association, the Korea Association of Intellectual Property Services, and KAIST and are respectively core institutions in the training of Intellectual Property Rights Experts and the creation, utilization, and the protection of intellectual property.
In addition the Award is also co-organized by the KAIST Graduate School of Intellectual Property Rights (established in cooperation with KAIST and the Korean Intellectual Property Office) and the total 20 million Won of prize money is funded by Korea Institute of Intellectual Strategy and Kim Ok Lan Foundation.
The Award Ceremony was held with a special lecture by the recipients.
It was stressed that the evaluation process was carried out with that the decision is a silent message to the society and is also a type of market signal.
Director Ko Gi Seok (Presidential Council on Intellectual Property) revealed that the candidates’ impact on the strength of national intellectual property rights was thoroughly scrutinized.
In the criteria of Creation of Intellectual Property, ETRI received the award in recognition of the institution’s successful patenting and commercializing of products of Korean R&D.
ETRI created a total of 251 International Patents in cooperation with ITU, ISO, IEE, etc. and also participated in a total of 9 International Standard Patent Pool, showing its active Intellectual Property management.
Such efforts ranked ETRI 1st in the United States Patent Evaluation performed by the US Patent Board in 2011 out of 237 institutions.
In addition Recipient of the Intellectual Property Utilization criteria, VOOZ ltd.’s Kim Boo Kyung promised the free use of their character POOCA in ETRI’s automated Korean-English translator. Researcher Kim Boo Kyung was rewarded with the award in recognition of his contribution to the domestic economy and realization of the commercialization of a copy right through licensing.
Former congressman Kim Young Son received an Award in the Foundation criteria in recognition of his efforts in the establishment of the Presidential Council on Intellectual Property and the Basic Blueprints for the Intellectual Property Law.
Former congressman Lee Jeong Hyuk received the same award in recognition of standardization and streamlining Intellectual Property Rights Policies. His realization and pursuit of the establishment of a balanced growth based on law for the competitiveness of businesses was the driving force behind his accomplishments.
2012.10.16 View 13044
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College of Cultural Sciences Announces Results for 6th Best Paper Award
The College of Cultural Sciences cohosts with the EFL Program the Best Paper Award each semester. The Best Paper Awards went to Jo Hyeong Chan and Oh Shin Ah undergraduate students. The Best Paper Award was established in 2009 in order to encourage and improve the English writing skills of undergraduate students.
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences opened up 69 English courses in Spring of 2012 and 14 papers were recommended by the respective professors as ‘best papers’. Out of these papers 2 were selected for First Prize and 4 were selected as Honorable Mentions. The two recipients’ papers were recommended by Professor Park Woo Seok (Topics in Philosophy).
2012.10.16 View 8532
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President Nam Pyo Suh receives Honorary Doctorate from Bilkent University, Turkey
President of KAIST Nam Pyo Suh received an Honorary Doctorate from Turkey’s Bilkent University on June 13th, 2012.
Bilkent University revealed that it is President Suh’s invention of a plastic manufacture process used all over the world and the combination of academic achievements like the creation of the axiomatic design theory that merits the Honorary Doctorate.
After the presentation ceremony, President Suh gave a lecture to professors and students at Bilkent University on the "University of the Future: Changing Education Paradigm."
Bilkent University is located in Ankara, the capital of Turkey and was established in 1984, which is largely regarded as Turkey’s best private university. It ranked 32 out of 50 universities in Times Higher Educations’ 100 Under 50 List of World’s Best New Universities.
2012.06.18 View 9974 -
Successful Development of Excavation System of Biomarkers containing Protein Decomposition Control Enzyme Information
A Korean team of researchers successfully developed a biomarker excavation system named E3Net that excavates biomarkers containing information of the enzymes that control the decomposition of proteins. The development of the system paved the possibility of development of new high quality biomarkers.
*Biomarker: Molecular information of unique patterns derived from genes and proteins that allow the monitoring of physical changes from genetic or environmental causes.
Professor Lee Kwan Soo’s team (Department of Biological Sciences) composed of Doctorate candidate Han Young Woong, Lee Ho Dong Ph.D. and Professor Park Jong Chul published a dissertation in the April edition of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics. (Dissertation Title: A system for exploring E3-mediated regulatory networks of cellular functions).
Professor Lee’s team compiled all available information of the enzyme that controls protein decomposition (E3 enzyme) and successfully compiled the inter-substrate network by extracting information from 20,000 biology related data base dissertations. The result was the development of the E3Net system that analyzes the related cell function and disease.
Cells have a system that produces, destroys, and recycles proteins in response to the ever changing environmental conditions. Error in these processes leads to disease.
Therefore finding the relationship between E3 enzymes that control the decomposition of proteins and the substrates will allow disease curing and prevention to become much easier. E3 enzyme is responsible for 80% of the protein decomposition and is therefore predicted to be related to various diseases.
However the information on E3 enzyme and inter-substrate behavior are spread out among numerous dissertations and data bases which prevented methodological analysis of the role of the related cells and characteristics of the disease itself.
Professor Lee’s team was successful in creating the E3Net that compiled 2,201 pieces of E3 substrate information, 4,896 pieces of substrate information, and 1,671 pieces of inter-substrate relationship information. This compilation allows for the systematic analysis of cells and diseases.
The newly created network is 10 times larger than the existing network and is the first case where it is possible to accurately find the cell function and related diseases.
It is anticipated that the use of the E3Net will allow the excavation of new biomarkers for the development of personalized drug systems.
The research team applied the E3Net to find tens of new candidate biomarkers related to the major modern diseases like diabetes and cancer.
2012.05.30 View 14632
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Quantum Mechanical Calculation Theory Developed
An Electron Density Functional Calculation Theory, based on the widely used quantum mechanical principles and yet accurate and with shortened calculation period, was developed by Korean research team.
*Electron Density Functional Calculation Theory: Theory that proves that it is possible to calculate energy and properties with only simple wave equations and electron densities.
The research was conducted by Professor Jeong Yoo Sung (Graduate School of EEWS) and Professor William Goddard with support from WCU Foster Project initiated by Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and Korea Research Foundation. The result was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Journal.
The research team corrected the error when performing quantum calculations that arises from the length of calculation time and incorrect assumptions and developed a theory and algorithm that is more accurate and faster. The use of wave equations in quantum mechanical calculations results in high accuracy but there is a rapid increase in calculation time and is therefore difficult to implement in large molecules with hundreds, or thousands of atoms. By implementing a low electron density variable with relatively less calculation work, the size of calculable molecule increases but the accuracy decreases.
The team focused on the interaction between electrons with different spins to improve upon the speed of calculation in the conventional accurate calculation. The team used the fact that the interaction between electrons with different spins increases as it comes closer together in accordance with the Pauli’s Exclusion Principle.
In addition the interaction between electrons are local and therefore can ignore the interactions between far away electrons and still get the total energy value. The team also took advantage of this fact and developed the algorithm that decreased calculation time hundredth fold.
Professor Jeong commented that, “So far most of the domestic achievements were made by focusing on integrative researches by calculation science and material design communities but these involved short time frames. In areas that required lengthy time frames like fundamentals and software development, there was no competitive advantage. However this research is significant in that a superior solution was developed domestically”.
2012.01.31 View 13080
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Honorary Doctorate Presented to President of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
KAIST presented to Dr. Svante Lindqvist, President of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Marshal of the Realm to the Swedish Royal Court, an honorary doctorate in science and technology on the 21st of November at Fusion Hall, KI Building.
Dr. Lindqvist, a pioneer in the field of history of science and technology, showed how science and technology have affected the development of human civilization. His work in explaining the relationship between science and history made it easier to the public to understand the importance of science in our society, upon which he was conferred the honorary doctorate.
Director Lindqvist obtained a doctorate from the Uppsala University of Sweden in 1984 with the dissertation, “Introduction of Steam Locomotive in 18th century Sweden.” This single dissertation won him three awards, which has been regarded even today as an introductory reading text to readers in the field of science history.
Dr. Lindqvist established the Department of History of Science and Technology in Sweden Royal Institute of Technology in 1989 and was the department chair for nine years until 1997. He then became the founding director of the Nobel Museum from 1998 to 2009 and developed the museum from a mere display venue of Nobel’s legacy to a multifunctional research oriented institute that supports and holds various outreach activities such as seminars and public lectures.
From the visit of Dr. Lindqvist to KAIST, students had a wonderful opportunity to engage with an internationally renowned scholar and, once more, to remind the university"s vision and mission, whereby they make contributions to the development of science, and ultimately, to the advancement of humanity.
2011.12.13 View 11531 -
Professor Kim Seung Woo and Professor Ko Kyu Young Receive the 7th Gyeong Am Scholar Awards.
Professors Kim Seung Woo and Ko Kyu Young of KAIST were named the winners for the 7th Gyeong Am Scholar Awards.
The award winners are: Professor Ko Kyu Young of KAIST in the Biological Sciences category, Professor Kim Seung Woo of KAIST in the Engineering category, Professor Kim Young Shik of Seoul National University and Professor Kil Hui Seoung of Sogang University in the Humanities category, and Professor Hong Byoung Hee of Seoul National University in the Natural Sciences category.
In the Liberal Arts category leader of Universal Ballet Company Moon Hoon Sook was chosen, and the Special Achievement Award was given to Historian Dr. Park Myoung Sun. Professor Ko discovered that it is Angionpoietin-1 that induces the growth of new blood vessels and thus made a significant contribution to the field of blood vessel formation, immune mechanism, and causes of cancer spread.
Professor Kim developed a mini extreme ultra violet laser light source using the resonance principles of plasmon and made a great contribution in the acquiring of core technologies and its industrial commercialization in the field of super precise optical instruments.
Gyeong Am Education and Culture Foundation was founded by the Chairman of Tae Yang Group, Song Geum Jo who had donated his entire fortune amounting to 100billion Korean Won to society by creating a public foundation aimed at encouraging advancements in learning, training of experts, and cultural developments for the betterment of Korea.
The Gyeong Am Scholar Awards was established in 2005 and recognizes those scholars and artists who are making significant contributions in the frontlines of society.
The awards ceremony is to be held at Busan on the 4th of November, three thirty in the afternoon and the winner of each category is to receive 100mil Korean Won in prize money with a commemorative plaque.
2011.09.26 View 11896 -
KAIST Successfully Demonstrates Mobile Harbor in the Open Sea
Busan, South Korea—Large container ships are no longer required to come into ports to transport cargo, as KAIST has developed an innovative technology that will transform the paradigm of today’s cargo handling operations. A Mobile Harbor is a vessel that carries a large stabilized crane with a smart spreader and multistage trolley system, enabling the loading and unloading of ship cargo on the wavy open sea. Following a successful docking of two vessels at sea in April of this year, KAIST conducted a full scope of Mobile Harbor operations in the inner sea of Busan, South Korea, on June 29, 2011.
Initiated in 2009, the Mobile Harbor (MH) is one of the university’s flagship research projects, which aims to provide a new growth engine that will lead the Korean economy to the next level of advancement, and to develop green technology through multidisciplinary and convergence research. The idea of MH came to light when thinking outside the box (why can’t a harbor go out to meet a ship on voyage and retrieve goods instead of ships coming into the harbor?) to improve problems relating to the current maritime transport system, such as port congestion, environmental issues caused by heavy sea transport, increased demand for supersized container ships, and the need for port construction and expansion.
The essential technology to establish a Mobile Harbor is a docking system and crane system that can overcome the obstacles imposed by the sea, i.e., waves and wind. Connecting two operating vessels of different sizes in the unpredictable and ever-changing environment of the sea was regarded as “impossible” and had never been tried before, but, on April 26, 2011, KAIST successfully demonstrated the technology to moor vessels safely and securely.
The Mobile Harbor has a unique way of mooring vessels that are anchored at sea: its flexibly designed robot arms with a square-shape vacuum suction pad at the tip reach out and attach to the hull of a container ship for docking. Each robot arm is connected to a cable and winch that further add stability to the Mobile Harbor. Foam-filled fenders are placed between the Mobile Harbor and the container ship, thereby maintaining a safe distance to prevent collisions.
The crane system consists of a multistage trolley, smart spreader, and tension controller, all of which provide the crane with functionality and stability to move around cargo containers in the sea. The crane system also has various sensors like cameras and laser scanners, and therefore, it can gauge the movement of the spreader and ships as well as trace a target container in real time. As a result, the spreader, a container grabbing device, is free from the swing motions when lifting and putting down cargo and grabs a target container safely in the wavy open sea.
During today’s at-sea demonstration in Busan, a research team from the KAIST Mobile Harbor Center docked a Mobile Harbor (a barge ship) right next to a container vessel (the other barge ship) and repeated freight transport operations between the two ships, presenting the great potential to commercialize the Mobile Harbor technology.
The project has been implemented in collaboration with industries, research institutes, and universities in such fields as mechanical engineering, robotics, automation engineering, and ocean systems engineering. The demonstration proceeded with a wide range of participants including researchers, engineers, government officials, and entrepreneurs from Korea and around the world.
Byung-Man Kwak, Director of the KAIST Mobile Harbor Center, explained his feelings on the successful demonstration:
“It’s been a remarkable journey to develop a Mobile Harbor from scratch, and I’m genuinely thrilled to showcase what we have accomplished so far. Today’s demonstration of Mobile Harbor’s core technologies will really change the face of our maritime transportation system. We will be able to deliver more goods to global markets and consumers via sea route, not necessarily building more ports or expanding the existing harbors. KAIST’s Mobile Harbor will also significantly cut down the high cost related to overland transportation of cargo and in return, contribute to the reduction of carbon emission.”
The Center has received much interest in possible market migration and broader application of the Mobile Harbor from businesses and organizations, e.g., US Office of Naval Research, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Aramco, POSCO, and the Korean Navy.
2011.07.06 View 18413