Dean Kyongbum Lee

Kyongbum Lee is dean of Tufts University School of Engineering and Karol Family Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. He obtained his PhD in chemical engineering with a minor in applied mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2002, and his BS in chemical engineering from Stanford University in 1995. He was previously chair of the Tufts Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.

Lee has received honors that include election as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), Jay Bailey Young Investigator Award in Metabolic Engineering, invitation to National Academies Keck Futures Conference, and the Tufts University Graduate Teaching and Mentoring Award. He has held the elected positions of division director and area program chair for the Food, Pharmaceutical Bioengineering Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). He currently serves on the editorial boards of the journals Metabolites, Adipocytes, and Technology. 

Lee’s research interests are in systems biology, metabolomics, and microbiome. His research group aims to gain fundamental insights into the biochemical and biophysical cues contributing to the regulation of metabolic pathways, and to develop technologies for assembling, characterizing, and manipulating these systems. He seeks to translate these basic insights and technologies into applications leading to engineering practice and meaningful health outcomes. He is particularly interested in discovering therapeutic and diagnostic targets for metabolic diseases such as obesity.