Lee Lab
The Lee Laboratory is working to develop new ways to help the body's own immune system fight cancer. Led by Dr. Dean Lee, the team focuses on a type of immune cell called a natural killer (NK) cell, which can recognize and destroy cancer cells.
Researchers in the lab study how NK cells work and how they can be strengthened, grown and engineered to better target cancer. Their goal is to create safer, more effective treatments for children and adults with a wide range of cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma, brain tumors and solid tumors.
The lab has been a leader in developing "off-the-shelf" NK cell therapies that can be prepared from healthy donors and made available to more patients. These innovative treatments are being tested in clinical trials designed to evaluate their safety and effectiveness.
Current research explores ways to improve the cancer-fighting abilities of NK cells, including using gene-editing technologies and other approaches to help the cells survive longer, multiply more effectively and attack tumors more efficiently.
By combining laboratory discoveries with patient-focused clinical research, the Lee Laboratory helps move promising therapies from the research bench to the bedside. Their ultimate mission is to advance immune-based cancer treatments and improve outcomes for patients facing cancer.
Inside Lee Lab
Our Research
The Lee Laboratory develops and advances cellular immunotherapies for cancer, with a particular focus on natural killer (NK) cell biology and engineered immune cell therapies. Led by Dean Lee, MD, PhD, the laboratory combines fundamental immunology research with clinical translation to bring innovative treatments to patients through early-phase clinical trials.
Building on pioneering work in T-cell immunology, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technologies, and gene engineering, the lab has become a leader in the development of universal donor NK cell therapies. Since establishing the Cellular Therapy and Cancer Immunology Program at Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University, the team has launched first-in-human, multi-institutional clinical trials investigating NK cell therapies for leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, sarcoma, carcinoma, brain tumors and other pediatric and adult cancers.
Current research focuses on enhancing NK cell function through both genetic and non-genetic approaches. Areas of investigation include gene editing of primary human NK cells, cytokine-mediated regulation of immune cell activity, epigenetic programming, donor selection strategies, and mechanisms that influence NK cell persistence, proliferation and anti-tumor activity.
The laboratory also serves as a core resource for correlative studies supporting cellular therapy clinical trials, providing standardized methods to evaluate NK cell phenotype, function and therapeutic response. Ongoing projects explore CAR-based approaches for pediatric cancers, interactions between activating and inhibitory signaling pathways, comparative oncology studies, and the molecular mechanisms that regulate NK cell development and function.
Through close integration of laboratory research and clinical translation, the Lee Laboratory aims to develop safer, more effective cellular therapies that improve outcomes for children and adults with cancer.
Featured Publications
- Denman CJ, Senyukov VV, Somanchi SS, Phatarpekar PV, Kopp LM, Johnson JL, Singh H, Hurton L, Maiti SN, Huls MH, Champlin RE, Cooper LJ, Lee DA. Membrane-bound IL-21 promotes sustained ex vivo proliferation of human natural killer cells. PloS one. 2012;7(1):e30264. Epub 2012/01/27. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0030264. PubMed PMID: 22279576; PMCID: PMC3261192.
- Wang HY, Lee DA, Peng G, Guo Z, Li Y, Kiniwa Y, Shevach EM, Wang RF. Tumor-specific human CD4+ regulatory T cells and their ligands: implications for immunotherapy. 2004;20(1):107–18. Epub 2004/01/24. doi: 10.1016/s1074-7613(03)00359-5. PubMed PMID: 14738769.
- Ciurea SO, Kongtim P, Soebbing D, Trikha P, Behbehani G, Rondon G, Olson A, Bashir Q, Gulbis AM, Indreshpal K, Rezvani K, Shpall EJ, Bassett R, Cao K, Martin AS, Devine S, Horowitz M, Pasquini M, Lee DA, Champlin RE. Decrease post-transplant relapse using donor-derived expanded NK-cells. 2022;36(1):155–64. Epub 2021/07/28. doi: 10.1038/s41375-021-01349-4. PubMed PMID: 34312462; PMCID: PMC8727305.
- Naeimi Kararoudi M, Nagai Y, Elmas E, de Souza Fernandes Pereira M, Ali SA, Imus PH, Wethington D, Borrello IM, Lee DA, Ghiaur G. CD38 deletion of human primary NK cells eliminates daratumumab-induced fratricide and boosts their effector activity. 2020;136(21):2416–27. Epub 2020/07/01. doi: 10.1182/blood.2020006200. PubMed PMID: 32603414; PMCID: PMC7685207.
- Romain G, Senyukov V, Rey-Villamizar N, Merouane A, Kelton W, Liadi I, Mahendra A, Charab W, Georgiou G, Roysam B, Lee DA, Varadarajan N. Antibody Fc engineering improves frequency and promotes kinetic boosting of serial killing mediated by NK cells. 2014;124(22):3241–9. Epub 2014/09/19. doi: 10.1182/blood-2014-04-569061. PubMed PMID: 25232058; PMCID: PMC4239333.v
