Office
(631) 469-7176
Email
Jun.Chung@stonybrookmedicine.edu
Stony Brook Medicine
Department of Pathology
Basic Sciences Tower, Level 9, #150J
101 Nicolls Road
Stony Brook, NY 11794-8691
Jun Chung, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pathology,
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
Research Program
Oncogenic Drivers and Mechanisms of Carcinogenesis
Department
Department of Pathology
Research Interest
My research is focused on development of therapeutics and diagnostics for breast cancers. Specific emphasis is on the molecular signature that makes Triple Negative Breast Cancers (TNBCs) aggressive so that TNBC specific biomarker and therapeutic intervention can be developed. TNBCs represent most aggressive subtype of breast cancers without effective treatment options. There are 3 major projects available for students and postdocs. 1) Therapeutic targeting of tumor suppressing micro-RNAs: Our lab is interested in characterizing tumor suppressing micro-RNAs whose expression is suppressed in metastatic breast cancers such as TNBCs. Current projects involve chemical modification of these tumor suppressing micro-RNAs to enhance their therapeutic efficacy and delivery. 2) Cancer derived exosomes as early stage biomarkers: Exosome specific contents such as proteins, DNAs, and micro-RNAs are being analyzed for liquid biopsy early-stage marker for breast and colon cancers. We are analyzing exosomes from plasma of various stages of caner patients’ blood samples. 3) Therapeutic targeting of Epithelial to Mesenchymal transition (EMT) to reverse treatment resistance in TNBCs: Various aspects of EMT such as cell motility persistence, invasion and 3D growth are studied using live cell imaging confocal microscopy. Elucidation of mechanisms that enhance EMT will lead to therapeutic intervention that reverses chemoresistance in TNBCs.
Education
BS, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
MS, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
PhD, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Publications
A complete list of publications can be found HERE.