In 2022, Sangwoo Park was the first recipient of the Breast Cancer Coalition’s newly renamed Pamela Delp Polashenski M.D. Breast Cancer Research Trainee Grant. His Coalition-funded study, “Overcoming the glycocalyx barrier to engineered cellular therapeutics” paved the way for his research program. Dr. Park was kind enough to recently share exciting updates on where his research currently stands.

Thank you for taking the time to share updates with our community! Can you share a bit about your initial proposal for research when you applied for the Coalition’s grant?

SP: I learned about the Coalition’s grant during my fourth year as a PhD student at Cornell University. At the time, I was training in Dr. Matt Paszek’s lab, where my work focused on developing optical microscopy approaches to study the glycocalyx, the dense sugar layer that coats the surface of cancer cells, particularly in breast cancer. Through this work, we found that a sugar layer on cancer cells can block immune cells (e.g., Natural Killer cells) from killing them. Based on this finding, I proposed an engineering strategy to equip Natural Killer cells with enzymes capable of remodeling or penetrating the glycocalyx barrier on cancer cells, with the goal of improving immune cell access to breast cancer cells.

What has the Coalition’s grant meant to you?  How has it impacted your research?

SP: My decision to study cancer was strongly shaped by my military service in South Korea, where I served as a firefighter and emergency medical technician. During that time, I often transported patients with advanced cancer, and I remember feeling helpless in situations where there was very little I could do for them. That experience stayed with me. After completing my service, I trained in biophysics with a focus on cancer research. However, for a long time, I was unsure whether my work was truly aligned with helping patients in a meaningful way.

Receiving the Coalition’s grant was a turning point. Through the Coalition, I had the opportunity to meet cancer survivors, patients, and their families, including the family of Dr. Pamela Delp Polashenski, whose legacy continues through the award. I was also deeply moved by the warmth and generosity of Pat Battaglia and Silvia Gambacorta-Hoffman, as well as the entire Breast Cancer Coalition community, who welcomed me with such kindness.

Beyond financial support, the grant reminded me why I do this work and what motivates me to keep going. It gave me confidence in my research direction and helped me develop my career more intentionally. With the Coalition’s support, this work ultimately led to publications, which helped establish a strong foundation for my current research program.

Can you share some updates on where your research currently stands?

SP: Since the initial proposal, the idea has evolved toward advanced cellular immunotherapies, particularly CAR-T cells. I am currently a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Marcela Maus’s lab at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, continuing this work with support from both Matt and Marcela. To more effectively overcome the glycocalyx barrier, I have been pursuing two complementary CAR-T cell-based strategies.  First, I designed a glycocalyx-binding module next to the CAR molecule on T cells to bind to the cancer cell’s sugar layer, so the CAR-T cells can physically access and engage with cancer cells more effectively. Second, I am continuing to develop the original enzyme-tethering proof-of-concept. This approach aims to directly remodel the cancer glycocalyx, but advancing it toward translation presents technical challenges, particularly because many effective enzymes are derived from bacterial sources. I am currently working to identify human-derived enzymes that can safely and effectively cleave the glycocalyx barrier. My long-term goal is to translate these ideas into more effective and safer immunotherapies for cancer patients.

What motivates you most as a researcher?

SP: Beyond my military experience, what truly motivates me is seeing fundamental discoveries become technologies that can actually help patients. I am driven by moments when basic physical or biological insights reveal clear paths toward new therapeutic approaches. My work focuses on identifying barriers that limit treatment effectiveness and engineering practical solutions to overcome them. Ultimately, my career goal is to translate fundamental science into technologies that meaningfully improve cancer treatment.

I am also motivated by the chance to stay engaged with communities like the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester. When I have opportunities to give back, even in small ways, to the Coalition that believed in and supported my work, it creates a strong push for me to work harder and aim higher. I really appreciate their support.

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