GRACE YANKUN LEE

Q. What particular scientific questions motivate you?

I’ve been doing research on metabolic syndrome for most of my scientific career. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that increase a person’s risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, particularly later in life. These chronic and complex diseases with both genetic and environmental contributing factors make them a daunting, yet intriguing, target. Research in this field has been extremely active, with new breakthroughs coming out almost every day.

The prevalence of metabolic symptoms has increased substantially worldwide over the past decade, posing serious threats to the global healthcare systems. An extensive and in-depth understanding of the complex pathophysiology of disease holds the key to the development of novel therapies to address unmet medical needs and improve human health. Here at the Sabri Ülker Center, our research has led to the identification of a number of molecules and cellular pathways, which play critical roles during the disease initiation and progression. Chemical and biological interventions targeting these factors have demonstrated promising outcomes in preclinical studies, and will hopefully advance to the clinical setting in the foreseeable future.