Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) announced on Thursday that the research results of Professor Kim Hyo-soo of the Biomedical Research Institute, Professor Min Sang-il of the Department of Transplant Vascular Surgery, and Professor Lee Seung-pyo of the Department of Cardiology have been selected as the “30 Healthcare R&D Excellence Achievements” in 2025.

The 30 Best Healthcare R&D Achievements, promoted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), selects research projects that have achieved excellent results in papers, patents, and technology transfer through a strict screening process. This initiative aims to inspire researchers' motivation and improve public awareness.

Through his research-oriented hospital project, Professor Kim was the first worldwide to identify the pathological mechanism of “dilated cardiomyopathy,” an incurable disease, laying an essential foundation for the development of heart failure therapies and publishing his findings, which led to patent registration.

Dilated cardiomyopathy is a typical form of heart failure in which the heart's ventricles dilate, reducing the heart's ability to contract, and there is no cure other than heart transplantation.

Kim's team created mice that can selectively knock out the latrophilin-2 gene in the heart and analyzed their characteristics to discover the pathogenesis of dilated cardiomyopathy. This analysis demonstrated that the latrophilin-2 gene, expressed in cardiomyocytes, plays a key role in heart contractile function. Furthermore, by demonstrating the potential application of gene therapy and ligand-based drug therapies using this gene in the clinic, the team laid the groundwork for the development of innovative biotherapies for heart failure.

Professor Min, through the Korean National Surgical Quality Improvement Project (K-NSQIP), demonstrated the clinical efficacy of robot-assisted kidney transplantation for the first time in Korea and established a standardized protocol for this surgery, and was recognized for publishing papers and building an infrastructure database.

Kidney transplantation is a key treatment for patients with end-stage renal failure, and robot-assisted kidney transplantation, which requires fewer incisions and faster recovery, is being introduced globally, but domestic clinical data were lacking.

Min's team verified the safety and efficacy of robot-assisted kidney transplantation compared to open surgery, validated its practicality, and established clinical application and high-risk group classification criteria for the safe introduction of this surgery. In addition, they secured data management infrastructure by establishing a web-based eCRF (electronic Clinical Research Form), a clinical trial data collection tool, which contributed to the spread and development of next-generation medical technology.

Through the Real-World Data (RWD)-based clinical research support project, Professor Lee established the largest precision medicine registry for heart valve disease in Korea and presented evidence-based treatment strategies for asymptomatic high-risk patients, achieving achievements in paper publication, database construction, and utilization.

Heart valve disease can lead to fatal outcomes, such as sudden death and acute heart failure, if early treatment is missed. However, it is difficult to determine the appropriate timing of treatment due to the lack of symptoms in the early stages.

Professor Lee developed a machine learning system that integrates data from 27,000 patients with heart valve disease registered at four university hospitals and links it with data from Statistics Korea to screen high-risk groups and analyze long-term prognosis. That has opened up the possibility of personalized treatment based on precision medicine, paving the way for a paradigm shift in the treatment of heart valve disease.