Since 1989, Prof. Sung has conducted extensive research in the field of vaccine and immunotherapy. His specialty has been developing therapeutic DNA vaccines for treating incurable diseases, including chronic hepatitis B, CIN/VIN, and tuberculosis, and he managed to expand his vaccine research from mouse model to non-primate, and ultimately to human patients (from bench to clinic). Many of these vaccines are currently being evaluated in clinical trials in collaboration with various pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Recently, he has been focusing on mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based gene therapies and antibody-fusion proteins. Based on the positive results obtained from preclinical studies, he plans to apply genetically engineered MSCs for cancer therapy and utilize hyFc-fusion technology for treating various types of infectious diseases as well as non-infectious diseases in clinic. Through many years of experiences in academia and industry, he has been establishing a global collaboration network among universities, institutions, hospitals, and companies to build a foundation for improving biotechnology in Korea and pioneering next generation therapeutics to save the lives of patients.

• ㆍVaccine & lmmunotherapy
• ㆍStem cell-based cancer gene therapy Activities
• ㆍDevelopment of naked DNA immunetherpeutics for chronic hepatitis B & tuberculosis
• ㆍEvaluation of therapeutic efficacy of mesenchymal stem cell based cancer gene therapy
• ㆍClinical trials and commercialization of various hyFc-fused longacting protein/peptide drugs

• ㆍCombined IgE neutralization and Bifidobacterium longum supplementation reduces the allergic response in models of food allergy. SB An, et al., YC Sung, MH Jang. Nat Commun. 2022 Sep. 27;13(1):5669
• ㆍSafety and immunogenicity of two recombinant DNA COVID-19 vaccines containing the coding regions of the spike or spike and nucleocapsid proteins: an interim analysis of two open-label, non-randomised, phase 1 trials in healthy adults. JY Ahn, et al., Sung YC, SH Park, JY Choi. Lancet Microbe. 2022 Mar. 3(3):e173-e183
• ㆍSoluble Spike DNA Vaccine Provides Long-Term Protective Immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in Mice and Nonhuman Primates. Seo YB, et al., Sung YC. Vaccines(Basel). 2021 Mar. 24;9(4):307
• ㆍPembrolizumab combined with GX-188E therapeutic DNA vaccine in patients with HPV16-and/or 18- positive advanced cervical cancer. Youn JW, et al., Sung YC. Lancet Oncology. 2020 Dec. 21(12):1653-1660
• ㆍA glycosylated Fc-fused glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist exhibits equivalent glucose lowering to but fewer gastrointestinal side effects than dulaglutide. An IB, et al., Sung YC. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2020 Apr 20. 22(8):1455-1468
• ㆍA Phase II, Prospective, Randomized, Multicenter, Open-Label Study of GX-188E, an HPV DNA Vaccine, in Patients with Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia 3. Choi YJ, et al., Sung YC, Suh YS, Park JS. Clin Cancer Res. 2020 Apr 1;26(7):1616-1623.

• ㆍB.S., Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea (1981)
• ㆍPh.D., University of Minnesota, Minnesota, USA (1988)

• ㆍ1988-1989 : Postdoctoral fellow, Harvard Medical School
• ㆍ1989-Present : Professor, Dept. of Life Sciences, POSTECH
• ㆍ2005-2011 : Director, POSTECH-Catholic Biomedical Institute
• ㆍ2005-2021 : CEO, Chairman Genexine, Ltd
• ㆍ2006-2008 : President/vice-president, Korean Association of Immunologist
• ㆍ2009-2013 : Director, POSTECH Biotech Center
• ㆍ2010-2012 : Chairman, Dept. of Life Sciences, POSTECH
• ㆍ2023-Present : Chairman, SL MetaGen

• ㆍ7th Hantaan Prize from Hantaan Life Science Foundation (2003)
• ㆍThe 2nd Mystery of life award (2008)
• ㆍApplied technology division of research achievements 2014 Tops from Biological Research Information Center (2014)
• ㆍScientists of the Year 2014 from Korea Science Journalists Association (2014)
• ㆍ49th Science Day Presidential Citation for Science and Technology Promotion (2016)
• ㆍWinner of the 59th 2018 3.1 Culture Award (2018)