Lee Protein Laboratory

Our research projects focus on proteins (i) in host-microbe interactions in Plasmodium falciparum, the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae, and Sinorhizobium fredii and (ii) in the plant and microbial metabolic pathways for the biosynthesis of natural products. Since the evolutionary and structural aspects of proteins have not been extensively investigated, my ‘Genomic identification–Structure-based functional study–Protein engineering’ strategies have made significant contributions to protein biochemistry, parasitology, and plant & microbial biology, including over 37 published peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. 

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In the professional community, Dr. Lee serves as an Early Career Reviewer (ECR) member of the Journal of Biological Chemistry (ASBMB, 2019-) and an editorial board member of Scientific Reports (Springer Nature, 2019-) and Frontiers in Chemistry & Frontiers in Plant Science (specialized in Plant Metabolism & Chemodiversity, 2022-). In addition, Dr. Lee has received several awards for my independent research, including the Arthur C. Neish Young Investigator Award (Phytochemical Society of North America, 2021).

The main goal of my research is to understand the molecular basis of how enzymes, regulatory proteins, and key signaling molecules function in a variety of metabolic pathways and regulatory networks using biochemical and biophysical research tools, especially protein X-ray crystallography.

Washington University in St. Louis

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Dissertation Title

- The Phosphobase Methylation Pathway in Plants,Nematodes, & the Protozoan Plasmodium falciparum

AWARDS, FELLOWSHIPS, & SERVICE     

Editorial Board Member, Frontiers in Chemistry & Frontiers in Plant Science (Plant Metabolism & Chemodiversity)
Editorial Board Member, Scientific Reports, a Nature Research journal                     

Arthur Neish Young Investigator Award (Phytochemical Society of North America)

Early Career Reviewer (ECR) Member for the Journal of Biological Chemistry 

ASBMB Early Career Faculty Travel Award

The Charles L. Cahill Research Award

ETEAL Pedagogy Initiatives Award
Plant Metabolic Engineering Gordon Research Seminar Travel Grant 
Wold Travel Award and Protein Science Young Investigator Travel Grant 
Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Biomedical Fellows Award
Travel Grant for US-Korea Conference (UKC) on Science, Technology, and Entrepreneurship
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Grad Student Travel Award

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Travel Award for Banff Conference on Plant Metabolism

Sogang Honors Scholarship, Summa Cum Laude

POSTECH BK21 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship