Nightviews Lecture Series Presents
2011–12 Robert A. Pritzker
Visiting Scientist•Inventor•Engineer in Residence
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Ka Yee Lee, Ph.D.
University of Chicago Professor of Chemistry |
An Interdisciplinary Approach Towards the Development
of New Therapies for Treating Diseases |
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
7 p.m. | Heller Auditorium
This event is free and open to the public.
Please click here to register online for this event.
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Scientists have traditionally viewed physics, chemistry and biology as distinct disciplines. However, boundaries between these disciplines have blurred during the past two decades, and scientists have been embracing an increasingly interdisciplinary approach to address problems in a variety of fields.
In this talk, Dr. Lee will look specifically at how this cross-disciplinary approach has impacted our understanding of medical problems. She will also examine how knowledge gleaned from these studies has aided the development of new strategies for the treatment of various medical conditions, from helping patients with respiratory distress syndrome to breathe to sealing structurally compromised cell membranes, from developing new drug delivery systems to elucidating regional effects of strictureplasty performed on patients with Crohn’s disease.
Dr. Lee is a Full Professor of the Department of Chemistry, the Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, the James Franck Institute and the University of Chicago. She currently also serves as the director of NSF-funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at the University of Chicago. She completed her undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Brown University in 1986 and her Ph.D. in applied physics from Harvard University in 1992. After her postdoctoral work in chemistry at Stanford University and chemical engineering at UC Santa Barbara, she joined the University of Chicago faculty in 1998. Her research interests span the disciplines of physics, chemistry and biology, with an emphasis on studies of cell membrane surface interactions pertinent to disease states. Her laboratory is engaged in several projects, examining the interactions between Alzheimer’s amyloid-beta peptides and lipid membranes, the membrane sealing capabilities of polymers, the targeting selectivity of antimicrobial peptides, the role of cholesterol in membranes, lung surfactant for proper lung functioning and biomimetic materials. More information is online at leelab.uchicago.edu.
Dr. Lee has been recognized with many honors and awards for both her research and teaching accomplishments, including the Searle Scholar Award, the David and Lucile Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering and the Sloan Research Fellowship. She has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society. Her efforts in undergraduate education have earned her the Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.
The Robert A. Pritzker Visiting Scientist•Inventor•Engineer in Residence program was created by a gift to Parker in honor of engineer, industrialist and philanthropist Robert A. Pritzker ’44. This program aims to expand science education opportunities at Parker and foster an ongoing dialogue among students and teachers about current issues in science. Previous recipients include Dr. Leon M. Lederman, Dr. Paul Sereno, Dr. Russell Mittermeier, Cristina Mittermeier and Dr. Edward “Rocky” Kolb.
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