The Bosarge Family Foundation-Waun Ki Hong Scholar Award for Regenerative Cancer Medicine represents a joint effort to encourage and support postdoctoral or clinical research fellows to conduct highly novel and provocative research in the field of regenerative cancer medicine and to establish a successful career path in this field. Funded research is directly related to the enhancement of the physiology of cancer survivors.

2025 Grantee

Scientific Statement of Research

Radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis (RIPF) is a severe and often fatal complication of thoracic radiation therapy, marked by alveolar scarring, structural collapse, and respiratory failure. Despite its clinical significance, effective therapeutic interventions remain elusive. Lung regeneration following injury depends on alveolar type II (AT2) epithelial cells, which act as progenitors for alveolar type I (AT1) cells responsible for gas exchange. Disruption of the AT2-to-AT1 transition — a crucial process also called cell plasticity — leads to fibrosis rather than tissue repair. Dr. Seo aims to explore the pharmacological modulation of AT2 cell plasticity as a potential therapeutic approach for RIPF. Utilizing preclinical models, single-cell transcriptomics, and functional pulmonary assessments, she plans to assess the potential of phenelzine, an FDA-approved antidepressant, as a potential activator of alveolar cell plasticity in radiation-induced lung fibrosis.

Biography

Dr. Seo earned her doctorate in cancer biology from Yonsei University, where she investigated cellular plasticity and therapy resistance in colorectal cancer. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Experimental Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She focuses on cell plasticity in tissue regeneration and tumorigenesis, utilizing genetically engineered mouse models, single-cell transcriptomics, and pharmacological interventions. She aims to develop innovative therapeutic strategies for radiation-induced fibrosis and advance translational research in regenerative medicine and oncology.

Acknowledgment of Support

“Receiving the Bosarge Family Foundation-Waun Ki Hong Scholar Award for Regenerative Cancer Medicine will advance my research on pulmonary fibrosis and cellular plasticity. This support enables me to explore novel therapeutic strategies, fostering my growth as an independent investigator and contributing to translational advancements in cancer and regenerative medicine.”

2023 grantee

Research

Cancer survivors often endure lifelong dry mouth post radiotherapy, due to ultra-high radiosensitivity and limited regenerative capacity of salivary glands. To address this major clinical challenge, Dr. Gan has developed a murine salivary gland transduction system involving in-utero injection of lentiviral pools containing barcodes and/or gene targeting constructs. This system allows for high fidelity lineage tracing and pathway perturbation and enables the identification of crucial cell populations contributing to salivary gland regeneration post-irradiation. Dr. Gan will functionally dissect the barriers impeding salivary gland regeneration by perturbing differentially regulated molecular pathways post-irradiation. He hypothesizes that the combinatorial removal of several regeneration barriers will lead to comprehensive salivary gland regeneration post-irradiation.

Biography

Dr. Gan earned his doctorate in cell biology from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Following brief postdoctoral training in stem cell and cancer initiation at Columbia University, he is currently engaged in postdoctoral research focused on salivary gland regeneration at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Acknowledgment of Support

“The 2023 Bosarge Family Foundation-Waun Ki Hong Scholar Award for Regenerative Cancer Medicine is crucial to me as a postdoctoral fellow aspiring to become an independent scientist focusing on glandular epithelial regeneration post cancer radiotherapy. This prestigious award provides critical support and vital resources to establish my own research program.”