Team

Jason is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Biomedical Sciences at Korea University College of Medicine. He completed his B.S. in Biological Science from the University of California Santa Barbara and graduated with an M.S. in Health Science and Technology from Sungkyunkwan University, focusing on Functional Genomics. Later, he received his Ph.D., also from Sungkyunkwan University, where he shifted his research focus to Cancer Genomics. While serving as a senior scientist at Samsung Medical Center, he specialized in tumor evolutionary dynamics and pharmacogenomics in various solid tumors. Building upon his expertise in exploring the cancer genome, he started his own independent research lab at Korea University in 2019, focusing on a wide spectrum of different tumor types, including glioblastoma, ovarian, colorectal, and gastric adenocarcinomas. Jason’s main scientific interests can be categorized into two main questions, which seek to: 1) identify essential driver mechanisms of evolutionary trajectories and biological response to therapy and 2) characterize key process dynamics that govern such composition. 

Dayoung is a Ph.D. student at KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology, Korea University. She is currently co-mentored by Jason K. Sa and Seok Chung. She graduated with a B.S. in Biotechnology from Konkuk University and completed her M.S. in Material Science and Engineering from Seoul National University. She has also obtained professional experience as a student researcher at KIST (Korea Institute of Science and Technology). Her previous research interests involved the development of a hydrogel microfluidic 3D culture system for lung cancer cells, mimicking the tumor microenvironment. Dayoung is currently studying the cancer genome of lung adenocarcinoma patients who received various treatments, including immunotherapy and EGFR-Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors at early versus metastatic stages.

Ji Yoon is an M.S.-Ph.D. student at Korea University in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. She completed her B.S. with a major in Biosystems and Biomedical Sciences at Korea University. Her current primary research interest is in the evolutionary dynamics of the cancer genome between pre- and post-treatment from clinical trials. Ji Yoon also focuses on disease prediction modeling via screening for candidate proteins that are involved in metabolism. Her ongoing research consists of an investigation of molecular and clinical characteristics between young and old breast adenocarcinoma patients based on different ethnic origins as well as exploring the developmental stages of anaplastic meningioma by analyzing the transcriptional cellular state of tumor cells and tumor microenvironment via single-cell analysis, in hopes of identifying novel biomarkers for potential therapeutic opportunities. 

Jiwon is an M.S.-Ph.D. student at Korea University in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. She received her B.S. in Biomedical Sciences at Handong Global University and acquired professional experience as a researcher at Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Jiwon is currently interested in identifying essential genomic aberrations that are involved in lung adenocarcinoma development and underlying mechanisms that are therapeutically exploitable within clinical practice. She is also exploring the molecular properties of upper tract urothelial carcinoma that distinguishes it from traditional bladder urothelial carcinoma. Through comprehensive pharmacogenomic analysis, she seeks to identify molecular correlates that determine the pharmacological response to chemotherapy and immunotherapy in urothelial carcinoma.

Youjin is an M.S.-Ph.D. student in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Korea University. She graduated from Konkuk University with a B.S. in Biology. She has been previously employed at Geninus as a chromium technician/researcher. Her research interests involve integrative analysis of advanced solid tumors and immunological diseases at single-cell resolution. You Jin is currently analyzing and integrating the complex molecular profiles of glioblastoma patients using multi-region sequencing with spatial transcriptomics as well as drug response from tissue slice culture to determine the degree of subclonal complexity that affects overall patient prognosis in glioblastoma.

Hyeonmin is a Master's student in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Korea University. She received her bachelor's degree in Bioscience and Biotechnology from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Her earlier research interests focused on identifying the genomic basis and molecular mechanisms of inherited disorders and rare pediatric genetic diseases, with an emphasis on understanding disease pathogenesis and uncovering potential therapeutic targets. Currently, her research explores the molecular characteristics of early-onset cancer patients compared to traditional-onset tumors, aiming to understand how these genomic features correlate with tumor propagation and clinical outcomes.

Wooseok is a Master's student in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Korea University. He completed his undergraduate studies in the Division of Life Sciences at Korea University, and his research interests centered on uncovering novel biomarkers and deciphering key signaling pathways involved in cancer progression. He is particularly focused on the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular proliferation and metastasis in malignant tumors, with the goal of translating these insights into clinically actionable strategies. His current work investigates spatially resolved cellular interactions between glioblastoma cells and tumor-associated macrophages, with the goal of identifying critical biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets.

Minhyung is a Master's student in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Korea University. He received his bachelor's degree in Biosystems and Biomedical Sciences from Korea University. Minhyung's current research interest is in applying artificial intelligence to integrative multi-omics analysis, spanning genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics, to characterize patient-specific molecular heterogeneity and to better understand how biological variability shapes dynamic treatment response.

Dayoung is currently a researcher in the Sa Lab. She received her B.S. in Systems Biomedical Science from Soongsil University and her master's from Korea University College of Medicine. Dayoung's current research focuses on elucidating tumor evolutionary dynamics at single-cell resolution in response to immune checkpoint blockades across a range of solid tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma, MSI-high gastric adenocarcinoma, basal and squamous cell carcinoma, lung adenocarcinoma, and breast adenocarcinoma, in hopes of identifying key molecular and cellular features that govern therapeutic response and resistance.

Jayoung serves as the lab administrator at the Sa Lab, overseeing all aspects of grant management, including budget tracking, expenditure approvals, and financial reporting. She is responsible for processing all grant and research-associated documents. In addition, she manages day-to-day administrative operations, helping to keep the lab running efficiently and supporting both research and personnel needs.

Jieun received her bachelor's degree in Systems Biomedical Science from Soongsil University. Her previous research involved the characterization of cellular heterogeneity and gene regulatory networks through the integration of single-cell multi-omics data. Particularly, she focused on cell-type-specific transcriptional programs, identified key regulatory elements, and explored the dynamic interplay between chromatin accessibility and gene expression. Her current research interest centers on the identification of therapeutic vulnerabilities across diverse tumor types by leveraging transcriptomic and proteomic analyses. Through such an approach, she aims to decode the molecular landscape of tumors and uncover clinically actionable targets that can inform precision oncology strategies

Jumin received his B.S. in Biology from Kyung Hee University. His current research interest focuses on elucidating the molecular and immunological landscape of recurrent glioblastoma, with a particular emphasis on tumor-immune cell interactions within the tumor microenvironment. He seeks to identify clinically relevant biomarkers and uncover novel therapeutic targets.

Han received his bachelor's degree from the Department of Life Science at Chung-Ang University. His research interests focus on investigating tumor microenvironment (TME) remodeling and tumor cell plasticity during metastatic progression through integrative multi-omics approaches. In particular, he aims to define metabolic and transcriptional programs that distinguish primary from metastatic tumors and to identify therapeutically actionable targets and biomarkers.

Shinhee is currently a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Department of Convergence Biotechnology at Kookmin University. Her previous research involved the identification of prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) through single-cell analysis. She is currently focused on establishing integrative cancer genomics pipelines to investigate transcriptomic changes between primary and recurrent glioblastoma (GBM), aiming to explore molecular mechanisms underlying tumor evolution and recurrence.

KyoJin is currently a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Department of Integrative Bioscience and Biotechnigy at Konkuk University. Her previous research focused on AI-based drug-target binding affinity and toxicity. She is currently interested in investigating tumor evoultion and identifying therapeutic targets for precision oncology through integrative multi-omics analyses, including single-cell and spatial transcriptomics.