LeE Laboratory

Welcome to the Lee Laboratory at Mercer University School of Medicine.

• Our laboratory investigates the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying Neuronal Aging and how aging increases the vulnerability of human neurons to Neurodegenerative Diseases. Our goal is to identify key regulators of neuronal aging and develop therapeutic strategies for age-associated neurological disorders.

• Using Direct Neuronal Conversion, we generate human neurons directly from patient-derived fibroblasts while preserving age-associated molecular characteristics. This platform enables us to faithfully recapitulate key pathological features of late-onset neurodegenerative diseases and investigate disease mechanisms in human neurons.

• Leveraging longitudinally collected fibroblasts from the same individuals, we study how aging-related molecular changes accumulate over time to identify conserved regulators that promote neuronal resilience and combat neurodegeneration.