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Kyongbum Lee
Associate Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Education:
2002 - Post-doc, Massachusetts General Hospital and Shriners
Hospital for Children, Boston, MA
2002 - Ph.D., M.I.T., Cambridge, MA
1995 - B.S., Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Research Areas:
Interest areas: systems biology, metabolic
engineering, and tissue engineering
Our research goal is to better understand the chemical design of living systems.
We are especially interested in cellular metabolism. Central to our research is
the idea that life-essential cellular processes such as signaling, biosynthesis
and biotransformation depend on and influence the metabolic state of the cell.
In this light, new insights into manipulating cellular functions, whether to
intervene in a disease process or to synthesize useful biomolecules may be
obtained through systems-oriented studies examining the biochemical machinery
of the cell as a whole.
Systems Biology -
A promising approach to studying the design of cellular networks has been to
characterize their layout, or 'wiring.' Earlier topological studies using graph
theoretical models have shown that many biological networks are "scale-free,"
and share the "small-world" property. In addition to these global properties,
recent studies have also examined sub-structures ('modules') that arise from more
localized interactions between the network's components. Our research seeks to
develop modeling frameworks that integrate the analysis of both global and local
features of a biochemical network's layout. Currently, we are building computational
tools to systematically identify dominant functional modules in a regulatory model
of hepatocyte metabolism. This project is a collaborative effort with
Prof. Soha Hassoun's group.
Bi-partite graph model of metabolic reactions in
the hepatocyte. Circles and triangles refer to
metabolites and enzymes, respectively. |
Metabolic Engineering - Our research in this
area involves both experimental and computational efforts
aimed at designing, characterizing and optimizing cellular
hosts for the production of novel biomolecules. Experimental
efforts involve metabolic profiling and flux quantification
using LC/MS/MS and other analytical techniques. In
collaboration with
Prof. David Kaplan, we are using these techniques to
characterize a bacterial host capable of producing a novel
family of chimeric cellulose. Computational efforts are
aimed at developing pathway analysis algorithms with
applications ranging from strain optimization to drug target
identification.
Tissue Engineering –
Tissue engineering tools are combined with modeling and
metabolic analysis to build model systems whereby important
cellular functions may be studied under well-controlled
experimental conditions while maintaining a high degree of
physiological relevance. Current projects leverage
developments in micro-fluidics to generate flow-through
incubators that afford spatial control over the chemical
micro-environment of the cultured cells. Currently, these
gradient generating incubators are used to establish
advanced co-culture models of adipose tissue and to
investigate the effects of nutrient gradients on liver drug
transformation. These projects are collaborative efforts
with Prof. Noo Li Jeon at Seoul National University (http://mbel.snu.ac.kr/).
Top – LC/MS spectra (Q1 multiple ion scan mode)
of enzyme digested chimeric cellulose fragments.
Bottom – mass spectra at t = 2.1 min |
Preadipocytes labeled with calcein-AM under a
non-linear solution gradient of the fluorescent dye. |
Awards and Honors:
- 2007 Invitation to the National Academies' Keck
Futures Conference
- 2007 Best Professor Award, Chemical and Biological
Department, Tufts University
- 2006 Jay Bailey Young Investigator Award for Best
Paper in Metabolic Engineering
- 2005 Mellon Foundation Faculty Research Fellowship
- 2002 Tufts University Faculty Research Award Council
- 1996 Member, Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society
- 1993 Member, Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society
News, Events, & Other Info:
|
4/09 |
Congratulations to Ryan for the Graduate Award for
Outstanding Graduate Research in Engineering! |
| 3/09 |
The LC-MS multi-user facility is up and running.
Please contact kate.carson@gmail.com for information on
training and use policy. |
| 8/08 |
Professors Hassoun (Computer Science) and Lee have
received a EMERGING MODELS & TECHNOLOGIES (EMT) award
from the National Science Foundation to develop a
multi-resolution modeling framework for biochemical
network simulation. |
| 7/08 |
Professors Lee, Pfeifer and Kaplan have received a
MAJOR RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION (MRI) Award from the
National Science Foundation. This MRI award will support
a new, multi-user LC-MS facility for Tufts' Medford
campus. Stay tuned for training and access information. |
| 6/08 |
Congratulations to our alumnus Yaguang for the
Mentor-Based Postdoctoral Fellowship by the American
Diabetes Association! |
| 6/08 |
Congratulations to Mark for the 2008 Tufts Summer
Scholars Award |
| 4/07 |
Congratulations to Jeongah for the Graduate Award
for Outstanding Graduate Research in Engineering! |
Courses Taught:
- Fluid Dynamics, CHBE 21 (Fall)
- Chemical Reaction Engineering, CHBE 102 (Spring)
- Metabolic and Cellular Engineering, CHBE 167 (Fall)
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