Our CS-IRTG Introductory Week was conducted from Monday, 16-Jun-2025 till Friday, 20-Jun-2025. Our CS-IRTG Principal investigators (PIs) from Seoul as well as Cologne gave introductory lectures and enabled the Cologne PhD Students to understand the research fields of the Korean PIs better. After the introductory lectures of the PIs during the early mornings, the Students presented in short their PhD topic and interests. A joint lunch and campus tour were also included daily in order to get to know each of the research buildings whereall the CS-IRTG PhD Students are spread across. The Introductory Week boosted the interaction between the CS-IRTG Cologne PhD Students immensely.

Our first batch of the CS-IRTG PhD Program started on 01-Apr-2025. We conducted a Welcome Session via Zoom on 04-Apr-2025 so that everyone could introduce each other and get to know each other better. The Welcome Session contained vital information about the our CS-IRTG PhD Program, the research stay in Seoul as well as important upcoming steps like enrolling as a PhD Student at the University of Cologne.

Our CS-IRTG Cologne Team attended the KSMO2025 in Seoul.

We are thrilled to have Prof. Joo Sang Lee join IRTG as a principal investigator. His group leads research in AI-driven precision cancer medicine, focusing on the analysis of sequencing and imaging data to guide personalized treatments. Using synthetic lethality concepts, they explore novel drug targets and biomarkers and are involved in ongoing clinical trials. His team is also building AI platforms that combine spatial transcriptomics with digital pathology to predict drug efficacy—aiming to create a robust precision medicine solution across diverse populations.

We’re pleased to welcome Prof. Seok-Hyung Kim as a new principal investigator within the IRTG. His research focuses on the heterogeneity of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs)—a key but complex component of the tumor microenvironment. His team aims to uncover the master transcription factors that define each CAF subgroup, which could lead to targeted therapies overcoming treatment resistance. With CAFs playing a critical role in cancer progression and drug resistance, Prof. Kim’s work will bring important insights into new therapeutic strategies.

We’re excited to welcome Prof. Sehhoon Park to the IRTG as a principal investigator. His team specializes in genomic research on lung and head and neck cancers, with deep expertise in single-cell and spatial transcriptomics. By integrating multi-omics data, they aim to predict immunotherapy outcomes more accurately. Recently, they have also begun matching spatial transcriptomic profiles with AI-based cell phenotyping to improve cellular classification precision. Prof. Park’s group is also developing remote monitoring systems that use AI to predict patient outcomes, such as emergency visits or treatment tolerability.

We’re pleased to welcome Dr. Varun Gupta as a core facilitator for the IRTG project. Dr. Gupta will support a new research initiative exploring the role of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients undergoing surgical resection.

The project investigates how anatomical lung resections and neoadjuvant therapies affect the number and characteristics of CTCs and ctDNA. Using advanced microfluidic isolation and sequencing technologies, the study aims to uncover biomarkers that can help predict treatment response, recurrence, and overall prognosis. This integrative approach is expected to improve risk stratification and guide personalized therapeutic strategies for lung cancer patients.

We’re excited to have Dr. Gupta on board as we push the frontiers of precision oncology in NSCLC.

We’re excited to announce that all 14 students have been successfully recruited for the first cohort of the IRTG program. Congratulations to those who were selected—we’re looking forward to an exciting journey ahead!

We’d also like to sincerely thank everyone who applied. We received many outstanding applications, and we appreciate the time and effort each applicant put into the process.

Stay tuned—recruitment for the second cohort will begin in 2027.

A first generation of 14 PhD students are being recruited at UoC and SAIHST during the first 6 months of 2025 and in addition MD stipends for qualifying MD/PhD students are available at UoC. Please submit your application under “Apply Now” and learn the Faculty under “Research Projects”.