The fundamental tenet of precision medicine involves genomic and molecular characterization of tumors to guide optimal therapeutic approach for individual patient. However, as most solid tumors harbor multiple genetic aberrations, predicting a successful therapy based on genomic analysis alone remains challenging. An integrated approach consisting of genomic analysis of the patient tumor, in parallel with direct assessment of drug response on patient tumor derivatives is the next step towards precision medicine. Towards this goal, the speaker and his research group have established a big-data driven comprehensive study of genomic and transcriptomic profiles of 462 patient tumor-derived cells (PDCs) across 14 different cancer lineages, together with response to 60 targeted agents. Through a robust and multi-layered analytical approach, they provided unprecedented insights into dynamic pharmacogenomic associations, including molecular determinants that elicit therapeutic resistance, and potential repurposing target-specific therapy. Collectively, the systematic approach provided a significant conceptual advance towards precision medicine treatment.
About the speaker
Prof. Do-Hyun Nam received his MD in 1988 and PhD in 2001, both from Seoul National University. In 1999, he was appointed an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery by the Samsung Medical Center which is affiliated with Sungkyunkwan University. He has been the Professor of Neurosurgery there since 2009.
Prof. Nam’s research interests focus on endoscopic pituitary surgery, neuro-oncology, brain tumor surgery and radiosurgery. His major scientific achievements include the creation of AVATAR Scan System, a preclinical evaluation system based on cancer stem cell biology that allows personalized clinical trials in cancer therapy. In addition, he has made notable advances in research of adult human neural stem cells and the development of novel therapies for neurological diseases.
Prof. Nam received numerous awards including the Pfizer Medical Award (2016) and the Samsung Medical Center Achievement Award (2014). He was also elected a Member of the National Academy of Medicine of Korea (2018).
For attendees’ attention
The lecture is free and open to all. Seating is on a first come, first served basis.
