37^th World Cancer Conference

Biography

Mong-Hong Lee is currently Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology of University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and a faculty member at The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston (GSBS). In 1993, Dr. Lee received his Ph.D. degree in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of Pittsburgh, where he received the Stanton C. Crawford Award for teaching excellence. He then went on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship while serving as a research associate at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (1993-1997).  After completing his fellowship, Dr. Lee came to M. D. Anderson in 1997 as an Assistant Professor (tenure track). He was promoted to his current position of Professor (tenured) in 2010. During his time at M. D. Anderson, Dr. Lee has been the principal investigator or a co-principal investigator for nine funded research projects. He also has been a grant reviewer for several funding agencies. Dr. Lee has been honored for his research activities, led by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Research Award (2001), Fleming and Davenport Research Award (2001), and William G. McGowan Foundation Research Award (1998). In addition to research, for more than a decade, Dr. Lee has been a key contributor to the education of trainees at M. D. Anderson and the GSBS in a variety of ways. For example, at the GSBS, he has been the course coordinator for the Molecular Genetics of Human Cancer seminar since 2006 and an instructor for the Cancer Cell Signaling course since 2000. Dr. Lee has had a wealth of direct interaction with trainees throughout his career. Specifically, he has directly supervised 40 graduate students, 12 clinical residents and fellows, 12 undergraduate and Allied Health students, 9 postdoctoral research fellows, and 1 medical student. Furthermore, he has chaired or served on 71 examining committees, 67 advisory committees, and 39 supervisory committees. UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and the UT GSBS at Houston have well recognized Dr. Lee’s educational efforts. In 2009, he received the John P. McGovern Outstanding Teaching Award, which is given annually to a faculty member at M. D. Anderson and/or the GSBS. Most recently, he has recently been named the February 2010 Faculty Educator of the Month at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Also, he received the M. D. Anderson Outstanding Educator Award in 2003. Currently, Dr. Lee is an ad hoc reviewer for 25 journals. He also has been a guest editor for the journal Breast Diseases. Over the course of his career, Dr. Lee has authored more than 50 articles published in peer-reviewed journals, 4 book chapters, and 3 invited articles

Research Interest

Characterizing the roles of Cdk inhibitors (CKIs) in cancer formation, and exploiting signaling regulation in cancer therapy. Research projects focusing on: 1) roles of two CKI molecules that he cloned in tumorigenesis; 2) COP9 signalosome signaling regulation; 3) investigating the impact of hypoxia and PIm1 kinase in drug resistance; 4) employing Aurora B kinase inhibitor for cancer therapy; 5) p53-MDM2 signaling regulation and DNA damage; 6) Myc ubiquitination regulation; 7) Glycolysis and cancer metabolism.