The study "Effectiveness and Safety of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors Added to Dual or Triple Treatment in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus," authored by Yesol Hong, Yoomin Jeon, Yoona Choi, Tae Kyu Chung, and Howard Lee, was published in the Diabetes Therapy on December 20, 2023. Conducted at Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) in South Korea, this research by the CCADD team delved into the use of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors (SGLT2i) in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) treatment. The study, utilizing Real-World Data (RWD) from electronic medical records (EMR) from SNUH's a Common Data Model database, revealed improvements in HbA1c levels and a higher rate of patients achieving targeted HbA1c levels with SGLT2i therapy.

Furthermore, CCADD is dedicated to continuing its use of EMR-based RWD to generate important clinical evidence, particularly in areas where Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) may face limitations. This commitment underscores CCADD's role in advancing medical research and improving patient care through innovative data utilization.

We are thrilled to declare that the unwavering dedication of our research team, led by Yoomin Jeon under Prof.Howard Lee's supervision has culminated in the successful approval of the first patent by CCADD!

This patent covers our novel machine learning-based dimensionality reduction model designed to revolutionize the assessment of clinical trial feasibility. By leveraging electronic medical records to identify common sensitive eligibility features, the research team aimed to significantly improve the efficiency and precision of clinical trial feasibility assessment. This accomplishment not only marks a significant milestone of our research project, but also paves the way for enhanced clinical trial practices in the future.

On December 27th, 2023, CCADD held the year-end workshop at Front1, a startup hub at the heart of Seoul, where PMACH is based. This year, Prof. Howard Lee and the members of CCADD were joined by PMATCH and Dr. Siun Kim. The workshop went on in a dynamic atmosphere, welcoming both Prof. Howard’s part-time student and the interns for the upcoming internship program.

After a brief ice-breaking time, the main session started with a recap of the accomplishments of 2023, reflecting on the overall trajectory. Prof. Howard commended CCADD’s continuous growth in both research and publications. As preparation for 2024, the following session outlined a roadmap, encompassing detailed research ideas and plans for conference to attend in 2024.

The spotlight then turned to CCADD interns. Three passionate interns—Tang Chao, Seorin Choi, and Yunha Noh—who will join the 2024 winter internship program introduced themselves through "Who am I" presentations. Following this, Yujin expressed her aspirations for the path ahead as a new CCADD graduate research student. The workshop proceeded with a lecture on the challenges faced by postdoctoral researchers and strategies for maintaining a healthy mindset among graduate students.

Dr. Siun Kim took a special session to share insights into his post-doctoral journey following graduation. Delivering a lecture on the trending topic of "LLMs in medicine and drug development", he provided valuable perspectives and briefly introduced his ongoing research projects. He candidly shared reflections on the first-year post doc., emphasizing the professional commitment required in the field of research.

Finally, PMATCH summarized their achievements in 2023 and anticipated the upcoming year's developments. With the successful launch of the 'BATTERY' app and a triumphant debut at CES^® 2023, PMATCH envisions a promising future with new team members. Yoomin Jeon, the Chief Technology Officer of PMATCH, expressed her commitment to meeting user’s needs as a must-have app.

The workshop concluded with a keynote address by Prof. Howard. Introducing new trends in 2024, he emphasized the significance of adjusting our research focus and domain knowledge to take another leap forward. Prof. Howard’s central message highlighted 2024 as a pivotal year for CCADD's rebound and PMATCH's inaugural year of growth. 

Yoona Choi and Jung-Hyun Won attended the 65th Annual Meeting & Exposition of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), which took place from December 9 to 12, 2023, in San Diego, USA. Annually, the ASH conference brings together healthcare professionals, researchers, clinicians, and academics from around the globe to explore advancements in hematology. This prestigious event not only focuses on the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of blood disorders but also features a variety of social events and opportunities for collaboration and the sharing of insights among experts in the field. Official photos from ASH are available here.

At the 'Outcomes Research—Lymphoid Malignancies: Poster II' session, Yoona Choi, serving as the first author and representing the entire research team, presented a study titled 'Evaluating the Effectiveness and Safety of Prephase Steroid Treatment before Remission Induction Chemotherapy in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Common Data Model-Based Real-World Data Approach.' This study investigated steroid pretreatment in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients undergoing remission induction chemotherapy (RIC), with the aim of reducing complications such as tumor lysis syndrome (TLS). Analyzing data from Seoul National University Hospital and Catholic University Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, the study compared patients who received steroid pretreatment at least seven days before RIC with those who did not. The findings indicated a significant reduction in TLS incidence in the pretreated group. While overall survival rates were higher in this group, the difference was not statistically significant. These results provide important real-world evidence for the effectiveness of steroid pretreatment in reducing TLS risk in pediatric ALL patients.

This study was part of a larger project, funded by a grant from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, aiming to develop a disease registry database for pediatric ALL using real-world data in the clinical data warehouse (CDW) of Seoul National University Hospital and Catholic University Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, thereby generating real-world evidence for pediatric ALL. 

Prof. Howard Lee gave a talk at the 17th JSCPT-KSCPT Joint Symposium, Kobe, Japan, on December 15, 2023. In his presentation entitled 'Real-World Data Analysis as a Clinical Pharmacologist: Experience and Some Thoughts', Prof. Lee. introduce the audience to the RWD research works CCADD has performed for the past 3 or so years, all of which have been published in reputable journals or under review shown below. Prof. Lee stressed, "With RWD landscape fast growing, clinical pharmacologists should leverage the potentials of RWD/RWE in drug development by furthering its scientific innovation!" 

Prof. Lee's speech was well received by the audience followed by a welcome reception by JSCPT colleagues, whom he and other delegates have not seen in person for the past three years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The night was full of talking, drinking, and singing! Both teams promised to meet again next year in Jeju, Korea, for the Spring Conference of 2024 KSCPT. 

CCADD attended the 2023 Fall Conference of the Korean Society of Medical Informatics (KoSMI) held at HIP(Healthcare Innovation Park) of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, South Korea. The conference spanned three days from November 29th to December 1^st, both online and offline. Aligned with the theme "Beyond Data: Actionable Health AI", the conference featured 27 symposiums covering various topics, from artificial intelligence in the healthcare to standardization of medical data and digital health.

The first day was conducted online. Particularly, ”Symposium 6: Development of Predictive Models for Cardiovascular Diseases Using Medical Big Data” was noteworthy, where Prof. Howard Lee served as the session chair and speaker, attracting significant attention from the audience with the presentation on ”Improving the Performance of Machine Learning Models for Predicting Acute Coronary Syndrome in Type 2 Diabetes Patients through Substitution of Propensity Scores for Binary Variables”. Also, throughout the conference, the poster presentation was led by David Seung U Lee.

On the second day, each symposium delved into topics of medical data and artificial intelligence applications to the healthcare domain. Themes included "Strategies for the Activation and Commercialization of AI-Based Drug Development" and "Smart Curation of Medical Data: Approaches for Preparing for the Utilization of Medical AI." This encompassed insights into the industry's latest strategies for drug target exploration. In Symposium 9, Dr. Siun Kim delivered a presentation on ”Addressing the challenges of data scarcity and bias of AI-based drug development”. The discourse extensively covered specific manifestations of data scarcity and proposed strategies for mitigation within drug development.

During the final day, the symposiums provided an opportunity to approach the trends in the utilization and data processing methods of developing LLM. Participants delved into the practical approaches for utilizing Real-World Data (RWD) in regulatory decision-making, replicating Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT), and employing common data models. CCADD members exchanged ideas with fellow researchers studying similar research topics, offering a valuable opportunity to comprehend ongoing research trends. It was an insightful symposium for healthcare information researchers to share and discuss the latest trends in research.

Prof. Howard Lee shared his past experiences and future perspectives on the 14C-based microtracing and macrodosing studies in humans in South Korea as an invited speaker to the 9th East Asia Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Symposium (EAAMS-9), held at KIST, Seoul, South Korea, on November 22-24, 2023. 

Prof. Lee has introduced the concept and utilizes of the 14C-based microtracing and macrodosing study for new drug development since 2024. As of today, Prof. Lee has completed a total of six microtracing/microdosing studies with one being the IND-opening study for the US FDA. In his talk, Prof. Lee shared his experiences in starting a 14C-labelled human study using the microdosing technology in Korea. Additionally, Prof. Lee gave hist perspective as to how this technology can be further utilized to increase the efficiency of clinical drug development.

Prof. Howard Lee gave a talk at an invited symposium in association with the Annual Conference of the Korean Society of Medical Informatics (KoSMI), held both online and offline on November 29, 2023. The title of his presentation was ‘Performance Increase of the Machine Learning Model to Predict Acute Coronary Syndrome in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus by Replacing Binary Variables with Propesnsity Score’. This presentation was a culmination of a research project with the same title supported by the Seokcheon Foundation, 2023, where the current and former CCADD graduate students, namely David Seung U Lee, Jung-Hyun Won, and YeSol Hong collectively contributed by proposing a new novel way to address the falseness of binary feature in the electronic medical records. Prof. Lee's speech was well received by the audience evidenced by 6 follow-up questions! The more detailed methodological aspect of Prof. Lee' talk was presented in an accepted poster led by David Seung U Lee.  

CCADD members attended the Annual Conference of the Korean Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (KSCPT), taking place at Sono Belle, Gyeongju, from November 16th to 17th. In this conference, approximately 300 participants shared their insights and findings in the translational pharmacometrics and new drug development realms. 

Representing CCADD, graduate students Tae Kyu and Yoona have delivered oral presentations on the latest advancements in clinical pharmacology and related scientific disciplines at the Conference.

Tae Kyu's oral presentation, centered around the research entitled "Comparison of Machine Learning and Population Pharmacokinetic Models for Predicting Antiepileptic Drug Concentrations Based on Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Records," acquired substantial attention, particularly from pharmacometricians. During the presentation and subsequent discussions, he shared insights on how the application of machine learning to clinical pharmacology holds the potential to revolutionize drug development, dosage optimization, and personalized medicine. 

Yoona also presented her research topic, entitled "Country Contribution of Investigators to Pivotal Clinical Trials and THeir Primary Publications of New Drugs Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration," emphasizing the need for Korean researchers to take an active leadership role in key clinical trials to secure opportunities to contribute as authors to primary publications. The audience also agreed with her suggestions and provided constructive feedback, e.g., why it is not easy to be the author in the primary publications. After her presentation, she commented that it was a valuable opportunity to gauge the interest of clinical pharmacologists in that subject matter. 

In this conference, Tae Kyu and Yoona were bestowed with the esteemed "Best Presentation Award," marking a significant achievement and recognition for their outstanding presentation skills. Out of around 50 accepted abstracts, only the 7 presentations were deemed worthy of the best presentation title. Tae Kyu and Yoona's work was further celebrated with a cash prize of 100,000 KRW.

After all the programmed sessions were over, attendants eagerly awaited the prize draw. In a moment of drawing for the first gift, Howard emerged as the fortunate recipient. With his jaws on the floor, Howard made his way to claim his prize, a Bluetooth Sony Headphone. The annual conference held by KSCPT was a stage to celebrate the lab's commitment to excellence and an opportunity to showcase our gratitute for the fortune we have experienced.