Amy Si-Ying Lee, PhD

The Lee Lab studies how cells sense and respond to environmental signals by modulating protein synthesis.

Specifically, the lab’s research is focused on discovering mechanisms regulating specialized mRNA translation and how these pathways are controlled during organismal development, viral infection, and cellular stress. To obtain broad insights into regulation of protein synthesis, the Lee lab applies an integrative approach combining RNA-protein biochemistry, cell-based experiments, structural biology, and development of new sequencing-based technology. Our research provides mechanistic understanding of the translation regulation networks that coordinate the precise control required for correct development and cellular function.
Biochemical and molecular mechanisms of transcript-specific translation.
Our recent findings have revealed that core translation factors and ribosomal proteins moonlight in functions outside of global protein synthesis to control gene-specific translation. We are examining the alternative roles of these factors by using RNA-protein biochemistry combined with innovative sequencing methodologies.
Regulation of protein synthesis by cell stimuli.
Gene expression changes are a major response to cell stimuli. While global translation responses to cellular environment have been widely studied, the contribution of transcript-specific translation is not well-defined. We seek to understand how translation factors act as a signal transduction platform to integrate environmental signals into defined cellular responses and animal behavior.
Translation dysregulation in human disease.
Accumulating evidence reveals dysregulation of translation initiation factors is associated with malignancy, inheritable diseases, and behavioral disorders. We seek to understand the molecular mechanisms that drive carcinogenesis and developmental diseases; and to determine if we can therapeutically target RNA-protein interactions for disease intervention.