Areas of Interest
The Lee lab aims to understand how pancreatic cancer develops in complex tissue environments, with particular interest in hypoxia and immune cells as critical tumor microenvironment components.
Honors & Awards
Concern Foundation Conquer Cancer Now Award, 2020
DoD PRCRP Career Development Award, 2020
Rogel Cancer Center-Swim Across America Young Investigator Award,2020
Young Investigator Scholarship, AACR-KCA Joint Workshop on Precision Medicine, 2019
Top Poster Award at AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer, 2014
NYU Graduate School of Arts and Science Student Conference Award, 2009
Korea Science and Engineering Foundation Scholarship for Study Abroad, 2003-2005
Magna Cum Laude in the Biological Sciences, KAIST, Korea, 2003
Korean Government Scholarship, Ministry of Science and Technology, 1999-2003
Credentials
Education
Ph.D., Cellular and Molecular Biology, New York University, 2010
B.S., Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Korea, 2003
Post-Doctoral Training
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 2018
Published Articles or Reviews
Li F, Huangyang P, Burrows M, Guo K, Riscal R, Godfrey J, Lee KE, Lin N, Lee P, Blair IA, Keith B, Li B, Simon MC: FBP1 loss disrupts liver metabolism and promotes tumorigenesis through a hepatic stellate cell senescence secretome. Nat Cell Biol 22:728-739, 2020.
Lee KE, Spata M, Maduka R, Vonderheide RH, Simon MC: Hif1α deletion limits tissue regeneration via aberrant B cell accumulation in experimental pancreatitis. Cell Reports 23:3457-3464, 2018.
Fuming Li*, Lee KE*, Simon MC: Detection of Hypoxia and HIF in Paraffin-Embedded Tumor Tissues. Methods Mol Biol 1742:277-282, 2018. *Equal contribution
Lee KE, Spata M, Bayne LJ, Buza EL, Durham AC, Allman D, Vonderheide RH, Simon MC: Hif1α deletion reveals pro-neoplastic function of B cells in pancreatic neoplasia. Cancer Discovery 6:256-269, 2016.
- In the Spotlight. Cancer Discovery 6:230-232, 2016.
- Research Highlight. Nature Reviews Cancer 16:67, 2016.
- Editors’ Choice. Science Signaling 9:ec77, 2016.
Lee KE, Simon MC: SnapShot: Hypoxia-Inducible Factors. Cell 163:1288-1288.e1, 2015.
Court H, Amoyel M, Hackman M, Lee KE, Xu R, Miller G, Bar-Sagi D, Bach EA, Bergö MO, Philips MR: Isoprenylcysteine carboxylmethyltransferase deficiency exacerbates KRAS-driven pancreatic neoplasia via Notch suppression. J Clin Invest 123:4681-4694, 2013.
Pylayeva-Gupta Y, Lee KE, Bar-Sagi D: Microdissection and culture of murine pancreatic ductal epithelial cells. Methods Mol Biol 980:267-279, 2013.
Lee KE, Simon MC: From Stem Cells to Cancer Stem Cells: HIF Takes the Stage. Curr Opin Cell Biol 24:232-235, 2012.
Pylayeva-Gupta Y, Lee KE, Hajdu CH, Miller G, Bar-Sagi D: Oncogenic Kras-induced GM-CSF production supports the development of pancreatic neoplasia. Cancer Cell 21:836-847, 2012.
Mallen-St.Clair J, Soydaner-Azeloglu R, Lee KE, Taylor LJ, Livanos A, Pylayeva-Gupta Y, Miller G, Margueron R, Reinberg D, Bar-Sagi D: EZH2 couples pancreatic regeneration to neoplastic progression. Genes Dev 26:439-444, 2012.
Lee KE, Bar-Sagi D: Oncogenic KRas suppresses inflammation-associated senescence of pancreatic ductal cells. Cancer Cell 18:448-458, 2010.
- Research Highlight In Brief. Nature Reviews Cancer 11:5, 2011.
Agbunag C, Lee KE, Buontempo S, Bar-Sagi D: Pancreatic duct epithelial cell isolation and cultivation in two-dimensional and three-dimensional culture systems. Methods Enzymol 407:703-710, 2006.