Soo Chan Lee, PhD
Soo Chan Lee, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Office Phone: 806.743.1053
E-mail: soochan.Lee@ttuhsc.edu
Education:
PhD: Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (2007)
MS: Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea (2002)
BS: Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea (2000)
Biography:
Dr. Soo Chan Lee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Immunology and Molecular Microbiology at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas. He earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biology and Microbiology, respectively, from Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea. Dr. Lee later pursued a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology with a focus on mycology at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, where he conducted research on fungal morphogenesis under the mentorship of Dr. Brian D. Shaw, utilizing the model organism Aspergillus nidulans. During his doctoral studies, Dr. Lee was awarded the Graduate Student Excellence Award and the Robert Nicholson Endowed Fellowship.
After completing his Ph.D. in December 2007, Dr. Lee joined Dr. Joseph Heitman’s laboratory at the Duke University Medical Center as a postdoctoral fellow, where he expanded his research to medical mycology, specifically focusing on the evolution of meiosis, virulence, and host-pathogen interactions in human pathogenic fungi, including Mucor species and Cryptococcus neoformans. His work led to his nomination as Postdoctoral Fellow of the Year at Duke, and he was also awarded the NIH T32 Mycology and Molecular Pathogenesis Training Program Fellowship.
In 2014, Dr. Lee was promoted to Research Assistant Professor at Duke, where he continued to investigate the virulence and pathogenesis of Mucor. In 2016, he established his own research laboratory at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), focusing on mucormycosis and the human mycobiome. Dr. Lee’s work has garnered recognition, including his selection as a Scholar at Yonsei Frontier Laboratory, Yonsei University, South Korea, in 2019. He also served as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) consultant in collaboration with the Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) in 2018.
Dr. Lee was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure at UTSA in 2023, where he led research efforts in medical mycology for seven years. He then joined the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Lubbock as an Associate Professor, where he continues to lead cutting-edge research in fungal pathogenesis. Over the course of his career, Dr. Lee has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and five book chapters. His research has been supported by the NIH, the Voelcker Foundation, the Korean Food Research Institute, AmtixBio Inc., the UTSA Brain Health Consortium, the IIMS/CTSA at UT Health San Antonio, and the Mindfull Foundation.
Research Interests:
Dr. Lee's research focuses on the pathogenesis of fungal infections, particularly those caused by Mucor species, which are responsible for the life-threatening condition known as mucormycosis. This infection poses a significant challenge to immunocompromised patients, and its incidence is rising due to an increasing vulnerable population. With a mortality rate exceeding 90% in disseminated infections and 50% overall, mucormycosis presents an urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies. One well-known virulence factor in fungi is calcineurin, a serine/threonine phosphatase that is essential for invasive hyphal growth in Mucor circinelloides. However, calcineurin's conservation across fungi and humans has hindered the development of calcineurin-targeted antifungal therapies.
Dr. Lee's lab has made significant breakthroughs in understanding calcineurin resistance in Mucor. Specifically, they discovered that mutations in an amino acid permease gene confer resistance to calcineurin inhibitors, such as FK506, through the activation of protein kinase A (PKA). This previously unreported finding opens a novel direction for antifungal drug development, with the potential to target fungal-specific downstream pathways absent in mammalian cells. Dr. Lee’s lab is currently investigating the genetic links between calcineurin, amino acid permease, and PKA to further explore resistance mechanisms and identify new therapeutic targets for mucormycosis.
Another area of focus is the intrinsic resistance of Mucor species to echinocandins, such as micafungin. Dr. Lee's lab is working to identify the genetic mechanisms responsible for this resistance, which is a critical challenge in treating mucormycosis due to the limited antifungal options available.
In addition, Dr. Lee investigates the role of the fungal microbiome (mycobiome) in human health and disease. The human gastrointestinal tract harbors a diverse array of microbes, including fungi, yet the role of intestinal fungi has been largely overlooked. Dr. Lee’s lab explores how mutations in the Dectin-1 receptor, which recognizes fungal cell wall components, contribute to inflammatory diseases like colitis. His research has also highlighted the involvement of fungal-driven dysbiosis in exacerbating inflammation following antifungal treatments. This work has significant implications for understanding the complex interactions between fungi, bacteria, and the immune system in the context of gastrointestinal diseases.
Current and Former Students and Postdocs:
Current Students:
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E. Young Huh – Research Lab Manager
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Katherine D. Mueller – Postdoctoral Fellow
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Rajesh Palanisamy – Postdoctoral Fellow
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Gabriela Maldonado – MS student
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Courtney Smith-Cornitius – PhD candidate
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Courtney Mayo – Rotation PhD student
Former Postdoctoral Fellows, Research Associates, Residents, and Fellows:
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Kyu-Yong Han – Postdoctoral Fellow
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Rishein Gupta – Assistant Research Professor
PhD Students:
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Kyu-Yong Han – Postdoctoral Fellow
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Rishein Gupta – Assistant Research Professor
MS Students:
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Katherin D. Mueller – A PhD at Duke, currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at TTUHSC
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Broderic Turner – A PhD candidate at MD Anderson Cancer Center
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Christalina Lopez – A Scientist in a Biotech Company
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Amanda Hilldore – A PharmD candidate at University of Texas at Austin
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Chris Serano – A PhD candidate at University of Texas at San Antonio
Undergraduate Students:
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April Ford – A Research Associate at the Naval Medical Research Unit at San Antonio
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Alejandra Lorenzen – A Research Assistant at the Naval Medical Research Unit at San Antonio, PhD candidate at University of Texas Health at San Antonio
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Micaela Campbell – An MD candidate at University of Queensland
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Madeline Giner – A PhD candidate at University of Georgia at Athens
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Emily Perez – A UTSA undergraduate
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Frida Valdez – A UTSA undergraduate
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Alex Ko – A UT Austin undergraduate
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Daniel Bahn – In Korean Airforce