Sun Young Rha

Sun Young Rha is a leading Korean gastrointestinal oncologist who has contributed extensively to clinical trials and translational research for gastric cancer, one of the most prevalent cancers in Korea with significantly higher rates than Western countries. Her research has examined molecular subtypes of Korean gastric cancer including the prevalence of EBV-positive gastric cancer, MSI-H disease, chromosomally unstable and genomically stable subtypes, and how these differ from Western cohorts. She has participated in multiple pivotal trials evaluating anti-HER2 therapy, VEGFR2 inhibition with ramucirumab, and checkpoint immunotherapy in gastric and GEJ adenocarcinoma in Korean and global populations. Her translational work has characterized immune microenvironment differences between EBV-positive and MSI-H gastric cancers, both of which show high immunotherapy response rates through distinct mechanisms.