Lee, Sanghyun

Sanghyun Lee

Assistant Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

Overview

Dr. Sanghyun Lee has dedicated his scientific career to dissecting host-virus interactions at molecular and physiological levels, aiming to understand how these interactions contribute to viral pathogenesis. He earned his Ph.D. from Seoul National University in Korea, focusing on viral non-coding RNAs and their role in the virulence of human cytomegalovirus. Following his doctoral training, he pursued a postdoctoral training in Skip Virgin lab and Megan Baldridge lab at Washington University in St. Louis, where he investigated cellular tropism for norovirus and interferon-lambda mediated immune control in the intestine. In 2020, Dr. Lee established his independent research program at Brown University, where his group has been actively exploring novel host-virus interactions and seeking to develop vaccines and therapeutics for enteric viruses and coronaviruses.

Brown Affiliations

Molecular Microbiology and Immunology

Research Areas

Immunology | virology

On the Web

Lee Lab

Research

Research Overview

The main focus of my laboratory is understanding dynamic host-virus interaction in cells and animals, such as how the host controls viral infection and how viruses counteract against the host immune system. We utilize a mouse model with a variety of knock-out and knock-in mouse lines to investigate viral pathogenesis, and also employ unbiased screening using CRISPR knock-out (CRISPRko) and CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) techniques to discover novel anti-viral or pro-viral cellular genes.

Funded Research

Current grants

NIH, R01 AI183155

Viral immune evasion during intestinal norovirus infection

03/06/2024– 01/31/2029 (Lee, PI) $2,781,863 total ($355,942 Direct/y)

NIH, R21 AI173821

Entry inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 by human LRRC15

07/12/2023– 06/30/2025 (Lee, PI) $275,000 Direct total

NIH, COBRE P20 GM109035-07

Surfaceome CRISPR screening for SARS-CoV-2 virulent proteins

08/01/2022 – 07/31/2026 (Lee, Project Leader) $ 150,000 Direct/y

Charles Hood foundation Child Health Research Awards Program

Development of a high efficacy non-capsid norovirus vaccine

01/01/2023 – 12/31/2024 (Lee, PI) $ 200,000 total

Smith Family Awards Program for Excellence in Biomedical Research

A focused approach to identify entry factors for pathogenic enteric viruses using CRISPR activation screening

04/01/2021 – 03/31/2024 (Lee, PI) $ 300,000 total

Moderna (Sponsored Research Agreement)

Study of seasonal coronaviruses

04/2023-04/2024 (Lee, PI) $211,700 total

2. Completed grants

NIAID, NIH K99 AI141683

A secreted viral protein determines norovirus persistence by immune evasion

08/01/2019 – 07/31/2022 (Lee, PI) $ 125,817 total

NIAID, NIH R00 AI141683

A secreted viral protein determines norovirus persistence by immune evasion

08/01/2020 – 07/31/2022 (Lee, PI) $ 500,000 total

Brown Research Seed Award

Identification of LRRC15 as a novel restriction factor for SARS-CoV-2

02/01/2022 – 06/30/2023 (Lee, PI) $ 50,000 total

Background

Education and Training

Year	Degree	Institution
2015	PhD	Seoul National University

Postdoctoral/Other Training

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Washington University in St Louis

2015-2020

St Louis, MO, USA

Honors and Awards

2023, Charles Hood foundation Child Health Research Award

2021, Smith Family Awards Program for Excellence in Biomedical Research

2019, K99/R00 NIH Pathway to Independence Award, NIAID, NIH

2016, Basic Science Research Program, National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF)

2008, Brain Korea 21 fellowship, National Research Foundation in Korea (NRF)

2004, National Science & Tech Scholarship, Korea Student Aid Foundation (KOSAF)

Researchers@Brown