Robin D. Lee

Robin Lee

Email: leex5749@umn.edu

Entering Class: 2015

Education:
University of Minnesota
Genetics, Cell Biology & Development major
B.S., 2015

University of Minnesota
Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology Graduate Program
Ph.D., 2022

Honors and Awards:

  • Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award for Predoctoral MD/PhD Fellows, National Cancer Institute, 2018-2023

MSTP Student Governance:

  • Student Advisory Committee 2019-2021

Thesis Advisor: Michael Farrar, Ph.D.

Research Interests:

STAT5 is a critical transcription factor that is required for proper lymphocyte development. For example, STAT5 is essential for CD8 T lineage commitment, regulatory T cell (Treg) development, B cell development and lymphocyte transformation. Active phosphorylated STAT5 can bind to target genes to either activate or repress transcription, however, the mechanism by which this occurs remains unclear. We hypothesize that STAT5 represses target genes via selective interactions with co-repressors, NCOR1 and NCOR2, and induces transcription via interactions with co-activators, CREBBP and EP300. The goal of my thesis is to characterize the role of these co-repressors and co-activators in lymphocyte development (B and T cell) and transformation (B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia).

Publications (pubmed)

Lee RD, Munro SA, Knutson TP, LaRue RS, Heltemes-Harris LM, Farrar MA. Single-cell analysis identifies dynamic gene expression networks that govern B cell development and transformation. Nat Commun. 2021 Nov 25;12(1):6843. PMCID: PMC8617197

For work prior to UMN MSTP:

Pomeroy EJ, Lee LA, Lee RDW, Schirm DK, Temiz NA, Ma J, Gruber TA, Diaz-Flores E, Moriarity BS, Downing JR, Shannon KM, Largaespada DA, Eckfeldt CE. Ras oncogene-independent activation of RALB signaling is a targetable mechanism of escape from NRAS(V12) oncogene addiction in acute myeloid leukemia. Oncogene. 2017 Jun 8;36(23):3263-3273. PMCID: PMC5464975

Eckfeldt CE, Pomeroy EJ, Lee RD, Hazen KS, Lee LA, Moriarity BS, Largaespada DA. RALB provides critical survival signals downstream of Ras in acute myeloid leukemia. Oncotarget. 2016 Oct 4;7(40):65147-65156. PMCID: PMC5323144

Lee RD, Song MY, Lee JK. Large-scale profiling and identification of potential regulatory mechanisms for allelic gene expression in colorectal cancer cells. Gene. 2013 Jan 1;512(1):16-22.

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