The Korea U.S. Collaborative Research Fund has awarded $4.4 million to a consortium led by KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) Endowed Chair Professor Jennifer Shin, and Associate Professor Ian Y. Wong of Brown’s School of Engineering to develop human-relevant cancer drug screening platforms.
Cancer is a leading cause of death in both the United States and South Korea, and it is extremely challenging to predict how a given patient’s tumor cells will disseminate and respond to drugs. Historically, cancer treatments have been tested using mouse models, but these findings do not consistently translate to humans due to physiological differences, as well as the heterogeneity across individual patients. In recognition of this issue, the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 opens the door to alternatives to animal testing, such as human cell-based assays. However, incorporating key features of human physiology within these assays remains challenging without a fundamental understanding of the underlying mechanobiology.
“Aberrant forces and flows in the tumor microenvironment are increasingly appreciated to drive hallmarks of cancer such as invasion and resistance to cell death. As engineers trained in mechanics and soft materials, we bring a unique scientific perspective to this tremendously challenging medical problem,” said Wong.
In addition to teams at KAIST and Brown, the consortium also includes engineers from MIT and Sejong University, combining their expertise in live imaging of cell migration and metabolism, precision measurement of cell and matrix mechanics, fabrication of microfluidic “organ on chips,” as well as AI-driven cell classification pipelines for identifying biophysical or mechanophenotypic markers and predicting therapeutic outcomes. Moreover, cancer biologists from the Broad Institute will screen hundreds of cell lines against thousands of candidate drug compounds, while the Korean National Cancer Center will provide tumor specimens collected from South Korean patients undergoing treatment. Shin will be on sabbatical at Brown University and MIT this year, further strengthening collaborative ties across the institutions and facilitating seamless integration of Korean and U.S. research efforts.
The Korea-U.S. Collaborative Research Fund was launched by the South Korean government in 2024 to catalyze collaborations between South Korean and U.S. universities, with a particular focus on learning from the Boston-area biotechnology hub. The investment spans five years and is in line with the government’s efforts to build global business concentrations that can bring up innovative firms in knowledge-based industries. Seventeen projects were selected from 203 submissions in 2024. Other consortium projects will be led by Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT, and Yale.