Jeannie Lee, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Genetics & Pathology at Harvard Medical School, the Blavatnik Institute
Chair of the Department of Molecular Biology
The Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, Endowed Chair in Molecular Biology
**Massachusetts General Hospital**
Dr. Lee is Professor of Genetics (& Pathology) at Harvard Medical School, the Blavatnik Institute, and is Vice Chair of the Department of Molecular Biology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Lee specializes in the study of epigenetic regulation by long noncoding RNAs and uses X-chromosome inactivation as a model system. She is a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Harrington Rare Disease Scholar of the Harrington Discovery Institute, a recipient of the Lurie Prize from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, an awardee of the Centennial Prize from the Genetics Society of America, the 2010 Molecular Biology Prize and the 2020 Cozzarelli Prize from the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Lee was also named a Distinguished Graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. From 2013-2018, she co-launched the Epigenetics Initiative at Harvard Medical School and served as its Co-Director. Serving on the Board of Directors of the Genetics Society of America (GSA), Dr. Lee spearheaded the TAGC (The All-Genetics) Conference in 2016. As GSA's President, Dr. Lee established a Strategic Plan and a Development strategy for the society in 2018. She received her A.B. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Harvard University and obtained M.D.-Ph.D degrees from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr. Lee then carried out postdoctoral work at the Whitehead Institute & MIT and became Chief Resident of Clinical Pathology at the Massachusetts General Hospital prior to joining the Faculty at Harvard Medical School. As a new investigator, she received the Basil O’Connor Scholar Award from the March of Dimes and the Pew Scholars Award. Growing knowledge of X-inactivation mechanisms and RNA biology is currently being translated to treat various human diseases (e.g., Rett, Fragile X, and CDKL5 Syndromes).
Dr Lee's Lab uses X-inactivation as a model to study basic questions in genome biology. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we address how non-coding RNAs direct changes in 3D genome organization. RNA has a special place in epigenetics by being uniquely capable of site-specific action. Our recent discovery that “junk RNA” such as B2 SINEs can function as epigenetic ribozymes puts a new spin on RNA Biology.
More information on Dr Lee's Lab
Publications
Major Research Interests:: X Chromosome inactivation
Aguilar R, Spencer KB, Kesner B, Rizvi NF, Badmalia MD, Mrozowich T, Mortison JD, Rivera C, Smith GF, Burchard J, Dandliker PJ, Patel TR, Nickbarg EB, Lee JT. Targeting Xist with compounds that disrupt RNA structure and X inactivation.Nature 2022-04-01. PMID: 35355011
Grimm NB, Lee JT. Selective Xi reactivation and alternative methods to restore MECP2 function in Rett syndrome.Trends Genet 2022-03-02
Rosenberg M, Levy V, Maier VK, Kesner B, Blum R, Lee JT. Denaturing cross-linking immunoprecipitation to identify footprints for RNA-binding proteins. STAR Protoc 2021-12-17
Yin H, Wei C, Lee JT.Revisiting the consequences of deleting the X inactivation center. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021-06-22