Laboratory: Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Biomedicine (LCBB) (N11-411)
Academic Career
Ph. D., 2017, GIST (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology)
Career
2018.01 – 2019.07: Postdoctoral fellow, National Cancer Institute (NCI), Maryland, United States
2019.07 – 2024.07: Postdoctoral fellow, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington D.C, United States
Research Interests
Cancer begins when cell proliferation and division are deregulated due to the accumulation of genetic mutations. During the precancerous stage, cellular plasticity- the ability of cells to alter their identity and characteristics-increases, leading to the transformation into abnormal cells. As abnormalities continue to accumulate, they eventually develop into invasive cancer. This cellular plasticity is further increased when cancer metastasizes to other body sites. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this plasticity in cancer remain poorly understood.
Therefore, our research focuses on identifying the molecular drivers of cellular plasticity during both the early and late stages of cancer development. Using primary cancer cells, organoid, and mouse models, we aim to discover molecular mechanisms involving cancer plasticity and improve our understanding of cancer initiation and progression, leading to the discover new biomarkers and molecular targets to improve the treatment of cancer patients.
Selected Publication
Kwon J, Zhang J, Mok B, Allsup S, Kim C, Toretsky J, Han C. USP13 drives lung squamous cell carcinoma by switching lung club cell lineage plasticity. Mol Cancer. 2023 Dec 13;22, 204. doi: 10.1186/s12943-023-01892-x
Kwon J, Zhang J, Mok B, Han C. CK2-Mediated Phosphorylation Upregulates the Stability of USP13 and Promotes Ovarian Cancer Cell Proliferation. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Dec 29;15(1):200. doi: 10.3390/cancers15010200.
Kwon J, Choi H, Han C. A Dual Role of DDX3X in dsRNA-Derived Innate Immune Signaling. Front Mol Biosci. 2022 Jul 6;9:912727. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.912727.
Kwon J, Choi H, Ware AD, Morillo BC, Wang H, Bouker KB, Lu X, Waldman T, Han C. USP13 promotes development and metastasis of high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma in a novel mouse model. Oncogene. 2022 Mar;41(13):1974-1985. doi: 10.1038/s41388-022-02224-x. Epub 2022 Feb 16.
Luo S, Kwon J, Crossman A, Park PW, Park JH. CD138 expression is a molecular signature but not a developmental requirement for RORγt+ NKT17 cells. JCI Insight. 2021 Sep 22;6(18):e148038. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.148038.
Choi H, Kwon J, Cho MS, Sun Y, Zheng X, Wang J, Bouker KB, Casey JL, Atkins MB, Toretsky J, Han C. Targeting DDX3X Triggers Antitumor Immunity via a dsRNA-Mediated Tumor-Intrinsic Type I Interferon Response. Cancer Res. 2021 Jul 1;81(13):3607-3620. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-3790. Epub 2021 May 3.
Park JY, DiPalma DT, Kwon J, Fink J, Park JH. Quantitative Difference in PLZF Protein Expression Determines iNKT Lineage Fate and Controls Innate CD8 T Cell Generation. Cell Rep. 2019 May 28;27(9):2548-2557.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.05.012.
Park JY, Kwon J, Kim EY, Fink J, Kim HK, Park JH. CD24+ Cell Depletion Permits Effective Enrichment of Thymic iNKT Cells While Preserving Their Subset Composition. Immune Netw. 2019 Mar 5;19(2):e14. doi: 10.4110/in.2019.19.e14.
Kwon JT, Ham S, Jeon S, Kim Y, Oh S, Cho C. Expression of uncharacterized male germ cell-specific genes and discovery of novel sperm-tail proteins in mice. PLoS One. 2017 Jul 25;12(7):e0182038. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182038.
Kwon JT, Jin S, Choi H, Kim J, Jeong J, Kim J, Cho C. TEX13 is a novel male germ cell-specific nuclear protein potentially involved in transcriptional repression. FEBS Lett. 2016 Oct;590(20):3526-3537. doi: 10.1002/1873-3468.12433. Epub 2016 Oct 13.
Kwon JT, Jin S, Choi H, Kim J, Jeong J, Kim J, Kim Y, Cho BN, Cho C. Identification and characterization of germ cell genes expressed in the F9 testicular teratoma stem cell line. PLoS One. 2014 Aug 25;9(8):e103837. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103837.
