The Lee Lab studies how cancer genomes dynamically evolve under therapeutic pressure, with a particular focus on the origins, structure, and functional consequences of genomic rearrangements. We aim to understand how DNA damage and repair processes shape tumor evolution and contribute to treatment resistance. Our work integrates high-throughput sequencing data from patient-derived samples and experimental model systems with advanced computational frameworks to map DNA double-strand breaks, characterize repair mechanisms, and reconstruct clonal trajectories over time. By combining genomics, computational biology, and translational research approaches, we seek to uncover the fundamental principles governing cancer genome instability. Ultimately, our goal is to translate these mechanistic insights into therapeutic strategies that limit tumor adaptation, improve treatment response, and help constrain cancer evolution in patients.
View available career opportunities in the lab here.
Watson E*, Lee JJ*, Gulhan DC, Melloni GEM, Venev SV, Magesh RY, Frederick A, Chiba K, Wooten EC, Naxerova K, Dekker J, Park PJ, Elledge SJ. Chromosome evolution screens select tissue-specific tumor aneuploidy patterns. Nature Genetics. 2024 May;56(4):900-912. [PMID 38388848]
Lee JJ, Jung YL, Cheong TC, Valle-Inclan JE, Chu C, Gulhan DC, Ljungstrom V, Jin H, Viswanadham V, Watson EV, Cortes-Ciriano I, Elledge SJ, Chiarle R, Pellman D, Park PJ. ERɑ-associated translocations underlie oncogene amplifications in breast cancer. Nature. 2023 Jun;618(7967):1024-1032. [PMID 37198482]
Lee JJ*, Park S*, Park H, Kim S, Lee J, Lee J, Youk J, Yi K, An Y, Park IK, Kang CH, Chung DH, Kim TM, Jeon YK, Hong D, Park PJ, Ju YS†, Kim YT†. Tracing oncogene rearrangements in the mutational history of lung adenocarcinoma. Cell. 2019 Jun 13;117(7):1842-1857. [PMID 31155235]
Lee JK, Lee J, Kim S, Kim S, Youk J, Park S, An Y, Keam B, Kim DW, Heo DS, Kim YT, Kim JS, Kim SH, Lee JS, Lee SH, Park K, Ku JL, Jeon YK, Chung DH, Park PJ, Kim J, Kim TM†, Ju YS†. Clonal history and genetic predictors of transformation into small cell carcinomas from lung adenocarcinomas. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2017 Sep 10;35(26):3065-3074. [PMID 28498782]
Lee JK*, Hahn S*, Kim DW†, Suh KJ, Keam B, Kim TM, Lee SH, Heo DS. Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors vs conventional chemotherapy in non-small-cell lung cancer harboring wild-type epidermal growth factor receptor: a meta-analysis. JAMA – Journal of American Medical Association. 2014 Apr;311(14):14
Lee JJ*†, Salehi S*, Myers MA, Williams MJ, Yao MA, Al-Rawi DH, Lee J, Sun EG, Thol K, Choi S, Havasov E, Preska Steinberg A, Wu M, Rusk N, Timmons C, Phua CZJ, Martis S, Mohibullah N, Manoj P, Redin E, Quintanal-Villalonga A, Razavi P, Aparicio S, Rekhtman N, Tabar V, Awad MM, Yu HA, Yu KKH, Ventura A, McPherson A, Rudin CM, Shah SP†. Evolution of oncogene amplification across 86,000 cancer cell genomes. bioRxiv. 2026 Feb 14. [PMID 41727087]30-1437. [PMID 24715074]