Ernest Y. Lee, MD, PhD

Physician-Scientist

University of California, San Francisco

Biography

I am currently a research-track dermatology resident at UCSF. I am a physician-scientist in dermatology who has trained in soft matter physics, structural and computational biology, immunology, and microbiology. I am interested in leveraging multidisciplinary strategies to study scientific questions at the intersection of infectious and autoimmune skin diseases. My graduate work spanned machine-learning aided design of membrane-active antimicrobial peptides, molecular mechanisms of psoriasis, lupus, and scleroderma, and the role of the nervous system in host defense against systemic infection. I graduated with an MD from the UCLA-Caltech Medical Scientist Training Program in 2020, and completed my PhD in Bioengineering in 2018 under the mentorship of Dr. Gerard C.L. Wong. I received a BS in Physics with Honors from Caltech in 2012. I am a member of AΩA, Tau Beta Pi, and Sigma Xi, and recipient of an Early Career Research Grant from the National Psoriasis Foundation, the Emil Bogen Research Prize, and the Edward K. Rice Outstanding Doctoral Student Award. In my spare time, I love discovering new restaurants, solving Rubik’s cubes, and rooting for the Lakers.

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Interests

Autoimmune Diseases
Innate Immunity
Antimicrobial Peptides
Biophysics
Structural Biology
Computational Biology

Education

Internship, Internal Medicine, 2021

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
MD, 2020

David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
PhD in Bioengineering, 2018

University of California, Los Angeles
BS in Physics (with Honors), 2012

California Institute of Technology

Publications

More Publications

Lee, E.Y., Chan, L., Wang, H., Lieng J., Hung, M., Srinivasan, Y., Wang, J., Waschek, J., Ferguson, A.L., Lee, K.F., Yount, N.Y., Yeaman, M.R., Wong, G.C.L. PACAP is a pathogen-inducible resident antimicrobial neuropeptide affording rapid and contextual molecular host defense of the brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 118(1) e1917623117, 2021.

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Bloom, M.B., Noorzad, A., Lin, C., Little, M., Lee, E.Y., Torbati, S. Standing electric scooter injuries: Impact on a community. The American Journal of Surgery 221(1): 227-232, 2021.

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Lee, E.Y., Arzeno, J., Ni, C., Holland, V. Ocular lichen planus treated with lifitegrast. In press International Journal of Dermatology, 2020.

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Lee, E.Y., Maloney, N.J., Cheng, K., Bach, D.Q. Machine learning for precision dermatology: Advances, opportunities, and outlook. In press, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2020.

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Lee, E.Y., Srinivasan, Y., de Anda, J., Nicastro, L.K., Tükel, Ç., Wong, G.C.L. Functional reciprocity of amyloids and antimicrobial peptides: Rethinking the role of supramolecular assembly in host defense, immune activation, and inflammation. In Frontiers In Immunology 11: 1629, 2020.

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Yount, N.Y., Weaver, D.C., de Anda, J., Lee, E.Y., Lee, M.W., Wong, G.C.L., Yeaman, M.R. Discovery of Novel Type II Bacteriocins Using a New High-Dimensional Bioinformatic Algorithm. In Frontiers In Immunology 11: 1873, 2020.

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Projects

Design Rules for Immunomodulation by Host-Defense Peptides

How do antimicrobial peptides modulate Toll-like receptor signaling?

Membrane-Active Peptides and Proteins

Machine-learning enabled discovery and design of membrane-active peptides and proteins.

Multifunctional Peptides and Proteins

How does nature conjugate multiple functions into a single protein domain, including receptor-binding and membrane activity?

Autoimmune Diseases and Chronic Inflammation

What is the mechanistic basis of autoimmunity?

Awards and Honors

Year	Award
2021	Forbes 30 Under 30 2021 in Science
2020	Emil Bogen Research Prize, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA
2020	Elected as Member of Tau Beta Pi: The Engineering Honor Society, UCLA
2019	Elected as Full Member to Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Honor Society, UCLA
2019	Elected as Junior Member to AΩA, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA
2019	National Psoriasis Foundation Travel Grant, National Psoriasis Foundation
2019	Society for Investigative Dermatology Post-Doctoral Retreat Trainee Scholarship, Society of Investigative Dermatology
2019	Keystone Symposia Trainee Scholarship, Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology
2019	Edward K. Rice Outstanding Doctoral Student Award, UCLA Samueli School of Engineering
2018	Department of Bioengineering Outstanding Ph.D. Student Award, UCLA Samueli School of Engineering
2017	Peptide Therapeutics Foundation Travel Grant, Peptide Therapeutics Foundation
2017	NIH NIAMS T32 Dermatology Scientist Training Program Grant (T32AR071307), UCLA
2017	National Psoriasis Foundation Travel Grant, National Psoriasis Foundation
2017	National Psoriasis Foundation Early Career Research Grant, National Psoriasis Foundation
2017	Doctoral Student Travel Grant, UCLA
2017	Department of Bioengineering Graduate Student Supplemental Fellowship, UCLA Samueli School of Engineering
2015	NIH NIGMS T32 Systems and Integrative Biology Training Program Grant (T32GM008185), UCLA
2015	Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship Finalist, The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation
2014	NIH NIGMS T32 Systems and Integrative Biology Training Program Grant (T32GM008185), UCLA
2013	3rd Prize, Inventathon, UCLA Business of Science Center
2012	NIH NIGMS T32 Medical Scientist Training Program Grant (T32GM008042), David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA
2011	Øistein and Rita A. Skjellum Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, California Institiute of Technology
2010	Rose Hills Foundation Scholarship, California Institiute of Technology
2008	Spence Reese Scholarship in Medicine, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego