'Avengers Team' to Punish Leukemia Rises in Ulsan... University, Hospital, and Companies Unite for Diagnosis and Treatment

Launch of 'Leukemia Ultra-Precision Bio Research Group' at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology on the 25th

UNIST, Uijeongbu Eulji University Hospital, Korea Otsuka, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, and 13 institutions

Ulsan UNIST.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A new ‘Avengers’ team to protect lives from leukemia has emerged in Ulsan.

A large-scale research group has been launched to lead full-cycle leukemia research and development, from basic research to clinical trials and commercialization, through a collaborative system involving industry, academia, research institutes, hospitals, and government for the development of new diagnostic and treatment technologies.

Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) held the launch ceremony of the ‘Leukemia Ultra-Precision Bio Research Group’ at 4 p.m. on the 25th in Room U110 of the Natural Science Building.

At the launch ceremony, participating institutions gathered to declare the launch and held an academic seminar related to the research to be promoted in the future.

The research group includes 13 institutions: UNIST, Uijeongbu Eulji University Hospital, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, Korea Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Bioseum, Green Cross Medical Foundation, B2S Bio, Immunopose, Optorain, Metaphore, Pharos iBio, Rokit Genomics, and the National Cancer Center.

The Leukemia Ultra-Precision Bio Research Group was formed with the goal of establishing a world-class leukemia research center that integrates biomedical science, clinical practice, and artificial intelligence technology, covering occupational leukemia.

Based on basic research on onset, relapse, and drug resistance, the group plans to promote the development of customized diagnostic kits and therapeutics.

Participating institutions have agreed to pool their capabilities and cooperate in their respective fields.

UNIST is responsible for basic life science research, genome analysis, and discovering new drug candidates using artificial intelligence.

The Department of Life Sciences and the C5 Cancer Control Research Center conduct basic research, the Genome Industry Technology Center analyzes the genomes of leukemia samples, and the Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence conducts preliminary screening of candidate substances.

Uijeongbu Eulji University Hospital is in charge of medical AI development and basic-clinical translational research using a precision medicine platform.

Pharmaceutical and bio companies play a role in commercializing diagnostic and therapeutic technologies secured through basic research. They secure patents related to gene-confirmation diagnostic kits and therapeutics and produce high value-added products.

Kim Hong-tae, head of the Department of Life Sciences at UNIST, explained, “Ulsan has established a high-level research and development infrastructure through the 10,000 Genomes Project and has favorable conditions for bio-related research, development, and demonstration centered on the upcoming establishment of an industrial accident public hospital.”

Kim added, “The research group will lay the foundation for Ulsan to leap forward as a mecca for leukemia research, including occupational leukemia.”

Professors Kim Hong-tae of the UNIST Leukemia Research Institute and Kim Dong-wook of Eulji University’s Leukemia Omics Research Institute have continuously conducted joint research to identify genes causing the acute phase progression of chronic myeloid leukemia. They have also achieved results such as elucidating the functions of genes related to resistance to targeted anticancer drugs.

The research team led by Professor Kim Dong-wook was selected in 2020 for the Korea Research Foundation’s next-generation applied omics project for bio-medical technology development and secured 2.8 billion KRW in research funding over five years.

Professor Kim Dong-wook of Eulji University Hospital said, “Leukemia is a field where the incidence rate continues to increase, and the fatality rate and treatment costs are high, making the development of innovative diagnostic and therapeutic methods essential.”

He emphasized, “With the launch of the research group, we will promote the development of precision diagnostics and immunotherapy technologies, accelerate research and development and commercialization, and quickly solve the problems faced by patients.”

At the launch ceremony, representatives and researchers from participating institutions attended and held an academic seminar on omics research. The seminar included an introduction to omics research, presentations on omics target research, diagnostic research, therapeutic research, and a panel discussion.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.