Laurel Lee, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor School Medical School Department Internal Medicine You have reached the Academic Profile. For more information on the doctor and patient care, please visit the clinical profile. Biography Laurel Y. Lee, M.D., D.Phil., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and a member of its Division of Cardiology. As a physician-scientist, she combines clinical cardiology practice with vascular biology and immunology basic science laboratory research. Dr. Lee holds bachelor's degrees in biology and neuroscience from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and earned her doctor of philosophy degree in T-cell immunology as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, where she identified broadly cross-reactive influenza virus-specific memory T-cells in humans and their epitopes. She completed her medical degree at Harvard Medical School through the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology physician-scientist program, where she characterized post-stroke monocyte and T-cell activation in mice. She received internal medicine residency training, cardiology fellowship training, and NIH/NHLBI T32-funded postdoctoral fellowship training in vascular biology and cellular metabolism at the Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital and was subsequently recruited to join as their faculty member. Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in cardiovascular disease, Dr. Lee joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2024. Dr. Lee’s vascular immunology laboratory focuses on molecular and cellular mechanisms by which immune activation perturbs vascular homeostasis and thereby make our blood vessels susceptible to various cardiovascular and metabolic pathologies, such as atherosclerosis. The ultimate goal of her scientific program is to improve our patients' vascular resilience and help prevent myocardial infarction, stroke, and ischemic limb loss. Dr. Lee’s scientific discoveries have been presented at multiple national and international scientific meetings, and she has also served as a co-chair for the vascular research program at the recent American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions. She has received multiple awards, including the current NHLBI K08 grant, Lerner Faculty Research Award, Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Martha Grey Research Award, and the NIH student research award. She is an active member of the American Heart Association and the North America Vascular Biology Organization and serves as an early career editorial board for the American Heart Association’s Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology journal. Dr. Lee's interests outside of medicine include music, rowing and nature. Research Interest Adaptive immunity Endothelial biology Metabolism T-cell biology Vascular smooth muscle cell biology Publications Featured Publications Metabolic Responses to Redox Stress in Vascular Cells. Xiao W, Lee LY, Loscalzo J, Antioxid Redox Signal 2024 Jul Interferon-γ Impairs Human Coronary Artery Endothelial Glucose Metabolism by Tryptophan Catabolism and Activates Fatty Acid Oxidation. Lee LY, Oldham WM, He H, Wang R, Mulhern R, Handy DE, Loscalzo J, Circulation 2021 Nov 144 20 1612-1628 Network medicine in Cardiovascular Research. Lee LY, Pandey AK, Maron BA, Loscalzo J, Cardiovasc Res 2021 Aug 117 10 2186-2202 Network Medicine in Pathobiology. Lee LY, Loscalzo J, Am J Pathol 2019 Jul 189 7 1311-1326 Defining ELISpot cut-offs from unreplicated test and control wells. Alexander N, Fox A, Lien VT, Dong T, Lee LY, Hang Nle K, Mai le Q, Horby P, J Immunol Methods 2013 Jun 392 1-2 57-62 Identification of H5N1-specific T-cell responses in a high-risk cohort in vietnam indicates the existence of potential asymptomatic infections. Powell TJ, Fox A, Peng Y, Quynh Mai le T, Lien VT, Hang NL, Wang L, Lee LY, Simmons CP, McMichael AJ, Farrar JJ, Askonas BA, Duong TN, Thai PQ, Thu Yen NT, Rowland-Jones SL, Hien NT, Horby P, Dong T, J Infect Dis 2012 Jan 205 1 20-7 Mouse transmembrane BAX inhibitor Motif 3 (Tmbim3) encodes a 38 kDa transmembrane protein expressed in the central nervous system. Nielsen JA, Chambers MA, Romm E, Lee LY, Berndt JA, Hudson LD Molecular and cellular biochemistry 2011 May 73-81 Invariant NKT cells reduce the immunosuppressive activity of influenza A virus-induced myeloid-derived suppressor cells in mice and humans. De Santo C, Salio M, Masri SH, Lee LY, Dong T, Speak AO, Porubsky S, Booth S, Veerapen N, Besra GS, Gröne HJ, Platt FM, Zambon M, Cerundolo V, J Clin Invest 2008 Dec 118 12 4036-48 Memory T cells established by seasonal human influenza A infection cross-react with avian influenza A (H5N1) in healthy individuals. Lee LY, Ha do LA, Simmons C, de Jong MD, Chau NV, Schumacher R, Peng YC, McMichael AJ, Farrar JJ, Smith GL, Townsend AR, Askonas BA, Rowland-Jones S, Dong T, J Clin Invest 2008 Oct 118 10 3478-90 Results 1-9 of 9 1 Books Featured Books Systems biology and network medicine: An integrated approach to redox biology and pathobiology. In Oxidative Stress: Eustress and Distress Lee LY and Loscalzo J (2020). London, Academic Press Honors & Awards Lerner Cardiology Faculty Research AwardBrigham and Women's Hospital (2024) K08 Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award(NIH/NHLBI) National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (2023) Student Resident Teaching AwardHarvard Medical School (2013) Martha Gray Excellent Research PrizeHarvard-MIT Health Sciences & Technology (2010) Rhodes ScholarUniversity of Oxford (2005-2008) Burchard ScholarMassachusetts Institute of Technology (2004) NIH/NINDS Exceptional Student Research Award(NIH/NINDS) National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2004) Professional Associations/Affiliations American Heart Association North America Vascular Biology Organization
