Dr. Sang Hoon Kim in Dr. Mi-Hyeon Jang’s Lab Receives NJCCR Postdoctoral Fellowship Award
Congratulations to Dr. Sang Hoon Kim, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Mi-Hyeon Jang’s lab, for receiving the prestigious New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research (NJCCR) Postdoctoral Fellowship Award.
The fellowship provides $100K per year for two years to support his research on developing effective drugs for chemotherapy-induced brain injury, which can lead to long-term cognitive impairments, commonly referred to as ‘chemobrain.’ His project uses single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), bioinformatics, and an AI-assisted drug discovery platform to identify brain-permeable, FDA-approved small molecule compounds, with the goal of rapidly translating these findings into real-world therapies.
Chemotherapy saves lives, but many survivors experience cognitive challenges that affect memory, focus, and daily activities. While exercise can protect the brain, not all patients can engage in physical activity due to cancer-related pain, fatigue, or other health issues. Dr. Kim’s research aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms through which exercise benefits the brain and to identify drug targets that mimic these protective effects. By leveraging advanced sequencing, computational analyses, and AI-driven drug discovery, the project has the potential to accelerate the development of therapies that improve cognitive function and quality of life for cancer survivors and patients with other neurodegenerative conditions.
Dr. Mi-Hyeon Jang, a core member of the Rutgers Brain Health Institute and Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has long focused on regenerative medicine. Her lab investigates the neurobiological mechanisms underlying adult neurogenesis, oligodendrogenesis, and myelination, with the aim of discovering strategies to enhance learning and memory in brain aging, as well as in neurological and neurodegenerative disorders. Building on this work, Dr. Jang’s laboratory now focuses on chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment, exploring the multiple molecular pathways that drive chemobrain to inform the development of rational, synergistic “disease-modifying” therapies.
