Jerry SH Lee, PhD

Dr. Lee is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Chemical Engineering & Material Sciences at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and Viterbi School of Engineering. As the Chief Science and Innovation Officer for the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC, he provides leadership, guidance, vision, and development of research capabilities for executing the Institute’s research projects and will be responsible for planning, implementing, and evaluating scientific direction, projects, and funding to sustain high-impact programs in support of a bold vision to transform cancer research in the 21st century.

Prior to joining USC, Dr. Lee served for more than a decade as a Health Sciences Director within the National Cancer Institute’s Office of the Director. Through direct support and use of public-public/public-private partnerships, he deployed programs focused on the integration of advanced technologies, trans-disciplinary approaches, infrastructures, and standards, to accelerate the creation of publicly available, broadly accessible, multi-dimensional data, knowledge, and tools to empower the entire cancer research continuum for patient benefit.

In 2016, Dr. Lee was assigned to Office of the Vice President to serve as the Deputy Director for Cancer Research and Technology for the White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force. A few key efforts he helped coordinate include the Applied Proteogenomics OrganizationaL Learning and Outcomes (APOLLO) Network, international collaborations to share molecular characterization datasets, the Blood Profiling Atlas in Cancer pilot, as well as co-chairing an interagency group focused on cancer data and technology policy issues.

Dr. Lee’s research involves elucidating the interplay between biophysical and biochemical drivers of age-related diseases and has co-authored over twenty papers, five book chapters, and one book. He is a member of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Research Advisory Council, the National Academies Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy’s Innovation Policy Forum, and the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute’s Board of Trustees. Dr. Lee earned his B.S. degree in biomedical engineering and Ph.D. in chemical and biomolecular engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

• National Cancer Institute: Director’s Merit Award, 2014-2017
• National Cancer Institute: Director’s Merit Award, 2010-2012
• NASA: NASA Graduate Student Research Fellowship Award, 2004-2006
• Tau Beta Pi, 2004

• Translating “Big Data” in Oncology for Clinical Benefit: Progress or Paralysis Cancer Res. 2022 06 06; 82(11):2072-2075. . View in PubMed
• Adaptation of Imaging Mass Cytometry to Explore the Single Cell Alloimmune Landscape of Liver Transplant Rejection Front Immunol. 2022; 13:831103. . View in PubMed
• A field guide to cultivating computational biology PLoS Biol. 2021 10; 19(10):e3001419. . View in PubMed
• Potential association between public medical insurance, waitlist mortality, and utilization of living donor liver transplantation: An analysis of the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients Clin Transplant. 2021 10; 35(10):e14418. . View in PubMed
• BloodPAC Data Commons for Liquid Biopsy Data JCO Clin Cancer Inform. 2021 04; 5:479-486. . View in PubMed
• Paradoxical androgen receptor regulation by small molecule enantiomers Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 03 23; 118(12). . View in PubMed
• Real-World Outcomes for Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in the Veterans Affairs System JCO Clin Cancer Inform. 2020 10; 4:918-928. . View in PubMed
• Use of Wearable Activity Tracker in Patients With Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy: Toward Evaluating Risk of Unplanned Health Care Encounters JCO Clin Cancer Inform. 2020 09; 4:839-853. . View in PubMed
• Quantified Kinematics to Evaluate Patient Chemotherapy Risks in Clinic JCO Clin Cancer Inform. 2020 06; 4:583-601. . View in PubMed
• Minimum Technical Data Elements for Liquid Biopsy Data Submitted to Public Databases Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2020 04; 107(4):730-734. . View in PubMed
• Generic Protocols for the Analytical Validation of Next-Generation Sequencing-Based ctDNA Assays: A Joint Consensus Recommendation of the BloodPAC’s Analytical Variables Working Group Clin Chem. 2020 09 01; 66(9):1156-1166. . View in PubMed
• Single cell correlation analysis of liquid and solid biopsies in metastatic colorectal cancer Oncotarget. 2019 Dec 17; 10(66):7016-7030. . View in PubMed
• Patient reported outcomes can improve performance status assessment: a pilot study J Patient Rep Outcomes. 2019 Jul 16; 3(1):41. . View in PubMed
• Contribution Of Care Source To Cancer Treatment Cost Variation In The US Military Health System Health Aff (Millwood). 2019 08; 38(8):1335-1342. . View in PubMed
• From Discovery to Practice and Survivorship: Building a National Real-World Data Learning Healthcare Framework for Military and Veteran Cancer Patients Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2019 07; 106(1):52-57. . View in PubMed
• Harnessing the Power of Collaboration and Training Within Clinical Data Science to Generate Real-World Evidence in the Era of Precision Oncology Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2019 07; 106(1):60-66. . View in PubMed
• Tumor cell density regulates matrix metalloproteinases for enhanced migration Oncotarget. 2018 Aug 24; 9(66):32556-32569. . View in PubMed
• A comparison of methods to assess cell mechanical properties Nat Methods. 2018 07; 15(7):491-498. . View in PubMed
• Opportunities and Challenges in Implementation of Multiparameter Single Cell Analysis Platforms for Clinical Translation Clin Transl Sci. 2018 05; 11(3):267-276. . View in PubMed
• Residual tissue repositories as a resource for population-based cancer proteomic studies Clin Proteomics. 2018; 15:26. . View in PubMed
• Data Harmonization for a Molecularly Driven Health System Cell. 2018 08 23; 174(5):1045-1048. . View in PubMed
• Aligned fibers direct collective cell migration to engineer closing and nonclosing wound gaps Mol Biol Cell. 2017 Sep 15; 28(19):2579-2588. . View in PubMed
• Biophysical and biomolecular determination of cellular age in humans Nat Biomed Eng. 2017 Jul; 1(7). . View in PubMed
• Collaborating to Compete: Blood Profiling Atlas in Cancer (BloodPAC) Consortium Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2017 May; 101(5):589-592. . View in PubMed
• Cancer Therapy: Shooting for the Moon Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2017 05; 101(5):552-558. . View in PubMed
• Innovative Methodologies to Drive Enrollment of Molecularly Defined Patient Populations for Diagnostic-Enabled Basket Studies Journal of Precision Medicine. 2017; (5):34-39. . View in PubMed
• Synergistic IL-6 and IL-8 paracrine signalling pathway infers a strategy to inhibit tumour cell migration Nat Commun. 2017 05 26; 8:15584. . View in PubMed
• Advancing Convergence and Innovation in Cancer Research: National Cancer Institute Center for Strategic Scientific Initiatives (CSSI) Electrochemical Society Transactions. 2017; 10(80):1315-1318. . View in PubMed
• Determination of Cellular Biological Age in Health and Disease Nature Biomedical Engineering. 2017; (1):0093. . View in PubMed
• Proliferation and enrichment of CD133(+) glioblastoma cancer stem cells on 3D chitosan-alginate scaffolds Biomaterials. 2014 Nov; 35(33):9137-43. . View in PubMed
• Targeted peptide measurements in biology and medicine: best practices for mass spectrometry-based assay development using a fit-for-purpose approach Mol Cell Proteomics. 2014 Mar; 13(3):907-17. . View in PubMed
• Intracellular Particle Tracking Rheometry CRC Handbook of Imaging in Biological Mechanics. 2014; 381-388. . View in PubMed
• Piloting an approach to rapid and automated assessment of a new research initiative: Application to the National Cancer Institute’s Provocative Questions initiative Res Eval. 2013 Dec; 22(5):272-284. . View in PubMed
• Aligned chitosan-polycaprolactone polyblend nanofibers promote the migration of glioblastoma cells Adv Healthc Mater. 2013 Dec; 2(12):1651-9. . View in PubMed
• Functional interplay between the cell cycle and cell phenotypes Integr Biol (Camb). 2013 Mar; 5(3):523-34. . View in PubMed
• Vascular Cell Physiology Under Shear Flow: Role of Cell Mechanics and Mechanotransduction Mechanical and Chemical Signalling in AngiogenesisStudies in MechanobiologyTissue Engineeringand Biomaterials. 2013; (12):121-141. . View in PubMed
• Considerations in the development of circulating tumor cell technology for clinical use J Transl Med. 2012 Jul 02; 10:138. . View in PubMed
• High-throughput ballistic injection nanorheology to measure cell mechanics Nat Protoc. 2012 Jan 05; 7(1):155-70. . View in PubMed
• The differential formation of the LINC-mediated perinuclear actin cap in pluripotent and somatic cells PLoS One. 2012; 7(5):e36689. . View in PubMed
• SMRT analysis of MTOC and nuclear positioning reveals the role of EB1 and LIC1 in single-cell polarization J Cell Sci. 2011 Dec 15; 124(Pt 24):4267-85. . View in PubMed
• Physical oncologyPreface. Phys Biol. 2011 Feb; 8(1):010301. . View in PubMed
• De-convoluting cancer’s complexity: using a ‘physical sciences lens’ to provide a different (clearer) perspective of cancerPreface. Phys Biol. 2011 Feb; 8(1):010302. . View in PubMed
• Intra- and Extracellular Microrheology of Endothelial Cells in 3D Matrix Biological and Medical PhysicsBiomedical Engineering: Biophysical Regulation of Vascular Differentiation and Assembly. 2011; (1):69-87. . View in PubMed
• Strategic workshops on cancer nanotechnology Cancer Res. 2010 Jun 01; 70(11):4265-8. . View in PubMed
• Inhibition of tumor-cell invasion with chlorotoxin-bound superparamagnetic nanoparticles Small. 2009 Feb; 5(2):256-64. . View in PubMed
• Magnetic nanoparticles in MR imaging and drug delivery Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2008 Aug 17; 60(11):1252-1265. . View in PubMed
• Next Generation Nanosolutions for Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis Cancer and Chemotherapy Reviews. 2008; (3):144-151. . View in PubMed
• Nuclear lamin A/C deficiency induces defects in cell mechanics, polarization, and migration Biophys J. 2007 Oct 01; 93(7):2542-52. . View in PubMed
• Probing cellular mechanical responses to stimuli using ballistic intracellular nanorheology Methods Cell Biol. 2007; 83:115-40. . View in PubMed
• Microrheology and ROCK signaling of human endothelial cells embedded in a 3D matrix Biophys J. 2006 Nov 01; 91(9):3499-507. . View in PubMed
• Ballistic intracellular nanorheology reveals ROCK-hard cytoplasmic stiffening response to fluid flow J Cell Sci. 2006 May 01; 119(Pt 9):1760-8. . View in PubMed
• How actin crosslinking and bundling proteins cooperate to generate an enhanced cell mechanical response Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2005 Aug 19; 334(1):183-92. . View in PubMed
• Cdc42 mediates nucleus movement and MTOC polarization in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts under mechanical shear stress Mol Biol Cell. 2005 Feb; 16(2):871-80. . View in PubMed
• Micro-organization and visco-elasticity of the interphase nucleus revealed by particle nanotracking J Cell Sci. 2004 Apr 15; 117(Pt 10):2159-67. . View in PubMed
• Local Dynamics and Viscoelastic Properties of Cell Biological Systems Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science. 2002; (7):210-217. . View in PubMed

• Lenz, Heinz-Josef
• Freyer, David