Junghee Lee, PhD
Assistant Professor, Neurology
Biography
Dr. Junghee Lee is Assistant Professor of Neurology at Boston University (BU) Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Principal Investigator at BU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC). As a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dr. Lee carried out intensive research projects related to oxidative stress and neuronal gene regulation using cell lines, primary cortical neurons, and astrocytes from rodent animal models of various neurodegenerative disorders. As a junior faculty at Boston University, she established translational studies that focus on in vivo mechanisms and therapeutic applications in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), Huntington’s disease (HD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Dr. Lee joined VA Bedford as a research scientist in 2003 and moved to VA Boston Healthcare System in 2008 where she has been managing an active research laboratory as the PI of NIH R01 grant. Dr. Lee’s research lab, Laboratory for Neuronal Injury and Inflammation has established various advanced skills and resources for studying cellular and molecular neurodegenerative mechanisms including neuronal gene regulation and epigenetic modifications in pre-existing cell lines and animal models of neurodegeneration as well as in human postmortem brains and spinal cords.
Research Interests:
Epigenetic mechanisms of neurodegeneration in HD, ALS, and AD: Epigenetic mechanisms are associated with the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders. The identification of new epigenetic mechanisms and markers will lead to the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. Epigenetics is one of Dr. Lee’s major research interests. Her lab has investigated the association of epigenetic mechanisms with HD, ALS, and AD. Her previous and recent findings provide fundamental components that can be translated into epigenetic therapy to treat neurodegenerative disorders. In addition, she found that deregulation of SIRT3, a mitochondrial histone deacetylase, is linked to mitochondrial dysfunction in AD via mitochondrial p53 and mitochondrial transcription-dependent manner.
Education
- Kangwon National University, PhD
- Kangwon National University, MS
- Kangwon National University, BS
Publications
- Published on 2/7/2025
Yousefian-Jazi A, Kim S, Chu J, Choi SH, Nguyen PTT, Park U, Kim MG, Hwang H, Lee K, Kim Y, Hyeon SJ, Rhim H, Ryu HL, Lim G, Stein TD, Lim K, Ryu H, Lee J. Loss of MEF2C function by enhancer mutation leads to neuronal mitochondria dysfunction and motor deficits in mice. Mol Neurodegener. 2025 Feb 07; 20(1):16. PMID: 39920775.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 1/15/2025
Bhalla M, Joo J, Kim D, Shin JI, Park YM, Ju YH, Park U, Yoo S, Hyeon SJ, Lee H, Lee J, Ryu H, Lee CJ. SIRT2 and ALDH1A1 as critical enzymes for astrocytic GABA production in Alzheimer's disease. Mol Neurodegener. 2025 Jan 15; 20(1):6. PMID: 39815261.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/24/2024
Giong HK, Hyeon SJ, Lee JG, Cho HJ, Park U, Stein TD, Lee J, Yu K, Ryu H, Lee JS. Tau accumulation is cleared by the induced expression of VCP via autophagy. Acta Neuropathol. 2024 Sep 24; 148(1):46. PMID: 39316141.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 7/23/2024
Kim S, Chun H, Kim Y, Kim Y, Park U, Chu J, Bhalla M, Choi SH, Yousefian-Jazi A, Kim S, Hyeon SJ, Kim S, Kim Y, Ju YH, Lee SE, Lee H, Lee K, Oh SJ, Hwang EM, Lee J, Lee CJ, Ryu H. Astrocytic autophagy plasticity modulates Aß clearance and cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease. Mol Neurodegener. 2024 Jul 23; 19(1):55. PMID: 39044253.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 7/17/2024
Yousefian-Jazi A, Kim S, Choi SH, Chu J, Nguyen PT, Park U, Lim K, Hwang H, Lee K, Kim Y, Hyeon SJ, Rhim H, Ryu HL, Lim G, Stein TD, Ryu H, Lee J. Loss of MEF2C function by enhancer mutation leads to neuronal mitochondria dysfunction and motor deficits in mice. bioRxiv. 2024 Jul 17. PMID: 39071309.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 10/1/2023
Heo JY, Park AH, Lee MJ, Ryu MJ, Kim YK, Jang YS, Kim SJ, Shin SY, Son HJ, Stein TD, Huh YH, Chung SK, Choi SY, Kim JM, Hwang O, Shong M, Hyeon SJ, Lee J, Ryu H, Kim D, Kweon GR. Correction: Crif1 deficiency in dopamine neurons triggers early-onset parkinsonism. Mol Psychiatry. 2023 Oct; 28(10):4485. PMID: 37783789.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/14/2023
Jung JW, Kim H, Park J, Woo J, Jeon E, Lee G, Park M, Kim S, Seo H, Cheon S, Dan K, Lee J, Ryu H, Han D. In-depth proteome analysis of brain tissue from Ewsr1 knockout mouse by multiplexed isobaric tandem mass tag labeling. Sci Rep. 2023 Sep 14; 13(1):15261. PMID: 37709831.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 8/30/2023
Heo JY, Park AH, Lee MJ, Ryu MJ, Kim YK, Jang YS, Kim SJ, Shin SY, Son HJ, Stein TD, Huh YH, Chung SK, Choi SY, Kim JM, Hwang O, Shong M, Hyeon SJ, Lee J, Ryu H, Kim D, Kweon GR. Crif1 deficiency in dopamine neurons triggers early-onset parkinsonism. Mol Psychiatry. 2023 Oct; 28(10):4474-4484. PMID: 37648779.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 3/13/2023
Lim S, Shin S, Sung Y, Lee HE, Kim KH, Song JY, Lee GH, Aziz H, Lukianenko N, Kang DM, Boesen N, Jeong H, Abdildinova A, Lee J, Yu BY, Lim SM, Lee JS, Ryu H, Pae AN, Kim YK. Levosimendan inhibits disulfide tau oligomerization and ameliorates tau pathology in TauP301L-BiFC mice. Exp Mol Med. 2023 Mar; 55(3):612-627. PMID: 36914856.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/20/2022
Choi SH, Yousefian-Jazi A, Hyeon SJ, Nguyen PTT, Chu J, Kim S, Kim S, Ryu HL, Kowall NW, Ryu H, Lee J. Modulation of histone H3K4 dimethylation by spermidine ameliorates motor neuron survival and neuropathology in a mouse model of ALS. J Biomed Sci. 2022 Dec 20; 29(1):106. PMID: 36536341.
Read at: PubMed
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