Research Focus

Dr. Lee’s research primarily falls under two main objectives:

1. Pioneering innovative therapeutic approaches specifically for breast cancer, and
2. Establishing preclinical research resources tailored to Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations.

Dr. Lee is deeply invested in ensuring that the discoveries made in the preclinical phase transition smoothly into clinical trials. This is crucial for expanding and improving the care options available to cancer patients. His expertise encompasses early-phase drug development, including work with small molecules and antibody-drug conjugates, high-throughput screening processes, and various mouse models. These models are especially crucial when studying drug-resistant breast cancer, spontaneous metastasis, and scenarios where human responses need replicating.

One of his core research interests is delving into the intricacies of drug resistance, identifying predictive biomarkers, and understanding the metastatic process and the tumor microenvironment. Specifically, Dr. Lee’s laboratory has been actively exploring areas related to receptors and pathways such as EGFR, HER2, HER3, AR, HDAC, MAPK, and DNA damage repair.

In the past decade, he has forged valuable partnerships with pharmaceutical entities and academic peers. These collaborative efforts have significantly advanced translational research rooted in preclinical findings, leading to the inception of four clinical trials.

In essence, Dr. Lee’s ultimate vision is to alleviate the distress experienced by cancer patients. He aims to achieve this by crafting patient-focused resources and robust preclinical research frameworks, thereby driving transformative translational and clinical research outcomes.