SKKU RANBIZ

SKKU Advanced Institute of Nano Technology Prof. LIM, YONG TAIK A research team led by Professor Yong Taik Lim at the SKKU Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology (SAINT), Sungkyunkwan University (first author: Ph.D. candidate Jin-Ho Choi), announced the development of an engineered nanoplatform named t-SMC (trained immunity-mediated splenic myelopoiesis converter), which precisely targets the spleen to reverse splenic myelopoiesis toward an antitumoral immune phenotype. In general, tumor progression severely disrupts systemic immunity. In particular, cancer cells stimulate the spleen—a critical command center that generates and regulates blood immune cells—corrupting myeloid lineage cells that should otherwise fight tumors into "protumoral immune cells" that foster tumor growth. As a result, even when primary tumors are surgically excised, this compromised immune environment frequently leads to tumor recurrence and metastasis.

2026-09-03

Advanced Materials Science and Engineering Prof. CHO, SUNG BEOM A research team led by Professor Sung Beom Cho of the School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, in collaboration with the teams of Professors Jin Sung Park and Hyunsouk Cho of Ajou University and Professor Ju Li of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has developed a "closed-loop materials synthesis planning platform" that uses a large language model (LLM) to propose synthesis conditions and procedures for complex new materials and iteratively refine them based on experimental results. The scientific community has recently been using various computational methods to rapidly identify promising new material candidates. However, actually synthesizing these materials requires extensive trial and error to determine specific conditions, such as which precursors to use and at what temperature and for how long the reaction should run. To reduce this trial and error, the research team devised a workflow in which the LLM searches existing literature for similar synthesis cases and proposes recipes suited to the new material.

2026-08-27

Medicine Prof. CHO, YOUNGSEOK A joint research team—led by Professor Young Seok Cho from the School of Medicine, alongside Professor James J. Moon from the University of Michigan—has successfully developed the world’s first oral, microbiome-based nanomedicine. By leveraging natural metabolites produced by gut bacteria, the new drug significantly enhances the ability of immune cells to attack cancer cells. This breakthrough study was published in the latest issue of Nature Nanotechnology, one of the world's premier journals in nanoscience and medicine. In recent years, "immunotherapy" (such as anti-PD-1 drugs) has emerged as a revolutionary treatment option that reawakens the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. However, its effectiveness has been limited because only a small fraction of patients respond positively. To overcome this challenge, the research team focused on the connection between gut microbiome and immunity. They discovered that a microbial metabolite called 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) acts as a powerful immune booster, safely driving the body’s defenses against tumors.

2026-08-13