Research Highlights Come Learn about our School's Research Dr. Chul Kwon RNA Engineering for Diagnosis and Therapy
Dr. Chul Kwon’s webpage
I would like to define the last 20 years as the golden era of RNA "biology." We have identified many novel regulatory RNAs, such as microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs, and revealed their functions and action mechanisms. Furthermore, we could experimentally identify most RNA-binding proteins and unveil their binding sites based on the remarkable development of proteomics and sequencing technologies. Again, the recent discovery of mRNA modifications has broadened our understanding of the gene expression process. Two years ago, we started our lab at HKU and had to decide what we would do here. I thought the future would be the era of Engineering Biology, which applies biological (and non-biological) knowledge to the real world to improve human welfare. In this point of view, RNA is a fascinating molecule because RNA can be the message itself or its regulator. Alnylam's siRNA drugs or Moderna's mRNA vaccines are compelling examples.
Our long-term vision is to create new RNA-related enzymes for diagnosis and therapy. To achieve this, now we are studying RNA-targeting Cas proteins and transposases. Our expertise in protein structures and RNA biochemistry is critical to this approach. In addition, AlphaFold, newly sequenced genomes, and the reduced cost for DNA synthesis provide an exciting research environment. Now we are standing on the shoulders of giants to make new RNA regulatory methods, which we did not have before.
Dr. Rio Sugimura Engineering Immunology for Cancer Immunotherapy
Dr. Rio Sugimura's webpage
The mission of The Blood Engineering Lab (BEL) is to define fundamental principles of anti-cancer immune cells and apply these insights toward improving chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technology and anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. We apply cutting-edge approaches including single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, molecular barcoding, organoids, and stem cell differentiation. The goal is to invent new tools for understanding and treating cancers. Our lab pursues Engineering Immunology to exploit the power of both innate and adaptive immune cells to target cancers. Our active research area is 1) specification of functional immune cells from stem cells, 2) defining molecular switches of innate immune cells, and 3) remodeling tumor microenvironment. Our ultimate goal is the clinical application of immunotherapy for liver cancer, lymphoma, and leukemia.
We work at the intersection of bioengineering and cancer immunology to invent new tools for understanding and treating cancers.
Dr. Sugimura is an accomplished scientist, recognized for his outstanding contributions to the field of hematology and stem cell biology. He is interested in using single-cell barcoding technology to delineate single-cell lineage maps of immune cells in human organoids and its application to cancer immunotherapy. His major contribution includes the identification of the crucial cellular metabolisms that regulate blood stem cells (Sugimura, 2012, Cell ), and the exploitation of the genetic program to specify blood stem cells from human pluripotent stem cells (Sugimura, 2017, Nature ).
Upcoming Events
Upcoming Events
Aug 6, 2022 Body Donation Day
Jul 9, 2022 The 206th Congregation, HKUMed
Jul 13, 2022 BSc(Bioinformatics) Taster Lecture
Jul 21, 2022 The 206th Congregation, Faculty of Science
Aug 19, 2022 (tentative) SBMS Teaching & Learning Retreat
Jul 11, 2022 HKU STEM Bootcamp on Data Science (STEM 2022) - "Introduction to Biomedical Data Science" by Dr. Joshua Ho & Dr. Jason Wong
Jul 29, 2022 BBiomedSc JUPAS Interview
Aug 22, 2022 HKUMed Induction Talk and Breakout Session
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