Sangmi Lee, PhD

Dr. Lee has been studying the protective mechanisms of the p75NTR signaling pathway in CNS trauma in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Beattie/Dr. Jacqueline Bresnahan at the University of California at San Francisco in Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Center, Department of Neurological Surgery.

Current Professional Interests and Activities

Currently, Dr. Lee has been studying the protective mechanism of the p75NTR signaling pathway in CNS trauma. Recently, we have seen p75NTR is involved in not only cell death, but also pro-inflammatory responses by attenuating trafficking pro-inflammatory monocytes in the injured tissues as well as circulation. Our unpublished data indicate that CNS trauma impedes T cell function due to the overwhelming pro-inflammatory reaction, which contributes to immune susceptibility in chronic CNS trauma patients.

Education and Training

2005                           Ph.D. Neurobiology, Yonsei University, Korea
2005-2007                 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University
2007-2011                 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Neurological Surgery, UCSF
2011-present             An Associate Specialist, Brain and Spinal Injury Center, SFGH, Department of Neurological Surgery, UCSF

Previous Positions

1998-2000     Instructor and Research Assistant, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Yonsei University, Korea
2001-2005     Graduate Associate, Biomedical Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology

Professional Memberships and Appointments

1997                           Member, Korean society for Immunology, Korean society for Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
1998 - 2000               Member, Korean society for Parasitology
2001 - 2005               Student Member, Korean society for Brain Research,

Korean society for Brain and Neuroscience

2002 - present           Member, Society for Neuroscience
2005 – present          Member, Korean Life Scientists in Bay area
2009 - present           Member, National Neurotrauma Society

Honors and Awards

2002                           Association for Korean Neuroscientists (AKN) President’s outstanding research award for 2002, Orlando, Florida, USA
2009 – 2010              Postdoctoral Fellowship Grants, Craig H. Neilsen Foundation

Publications older than 2002

A. Book Chapter

1. Trivedi A, Zhang H, Lee S, and Noble-Haeusslein.  “Neutrophils as determinants of vascular reactivity in the injured spinal cord.” Vascular Mechanisms in CNS Trauma, Springer Series in Translational Stroke Research, Vol. 5. Editors: Lo EH, Lok J, Ning M, Whalen M. 2014.

B. Publications (in chronological order since 2002)

1. Lee SM, Yune TY, Kim SJ, Park DW, Lee YK, Kim YJ, Oh YJ, Markelonis GJ, Oh TH. Minocycline reduces cell death and improve functional recovery after traumatic spinal cord injury. J Neurotrauma 2003; 20: 1017-102.
2. Yune TY, Kim SJ, Lee SM, Lee YK, Oh YJ, Kim YC, Markelonis GJ, Oh TH. Systemic administration of 17b-estradiol reduces apoptotic cell death and improves functional recovery following traumatic spinal cord injury in rats. J. Neurotrauma 2004; 21: 293-306.
3. Lee SM, Yune TY, Kim SJ, Kim YC, Oh YJ, Markelonis GJ, and Oh TH. J. Minocycline inhibits apptotic cell death via attenuation of TNF-a expression following iNOS/NO induction by lipopolysaccharide in neuron/glia co-cultures. J. Neurochemistry 2004; 91: 568-578.
4. Yune TY, Lee SM, Kim SJ, Park HG, Kim YC, Oh YJ, Markelonis GJ, and Oh TH. Manganese-Superoxide Dismutase induced by TNF-a is regulated transcriptionally by NF-kB after spinal cord injury in rats. J. Neurotrauma 2004; 21: 1778-1794.
5. Lee SM, Zhao H, Maier C, and Steinberg G. The protective effect of post-ischemic hypothermia on PTEN phosphorylation correlates with free radical inhibition. J. Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism 2009;29(9):1589-1600.
6. Zhang H, Trivedi A, Lee JU, Lohela M, Lee SM, Fandel TM, Werb Z, and Noble-Haeusslein LJ. Matrix metalloproteinase-9-stromal cell-derived factor-1 act synergistically to support migration of blood-borne monocytes into the injured spinal cord. J. Neuroscience 2011;31(44):15894-15903.
7. Lee SM, Steven R, Weinstein P, Rooijen NV, and Noble-Haeusslein LJ. Prevention of both neutrophil and macrophage recruitment promotes recovery after spinal cord injury in mice. J. Neurotrauma 2011;28(9):1893-1907. Repetitive concussions in adolescent athletes-translating clinical and experimental research into perspectives on rehabilitation strategies. Frontiers in Neurology 2015;6:69. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2015.00069. eCollection 2015.
8. Lee SM, Rosen SD, Sontag CJ, and Noble-Haeusslein LJ. Pharmacologically targeting L-selectin improves outcomes following spinal cord injury. In preparation.
9. Lee S, Lin A, Sacramento J, Salegio E, Ferguson AR, Mannet L, Castel M-N, Canolle B, Delbary-Gossart S, Ferzaz B, Bresnahan JC, and Beattie MS. A novel inhibitor of p75-neurotrophin receptor dimerization is neuroprotective in vitro and in vivo and improves functional outcomes in two models of traumatic brain injury. In preparation.

Lee S, Lin A, Sacramento J, Salegio E, Ferguson AR, Mannet L, Castel M-N, Canolle B, Delbary-Gossart S, Ferzaz B, Bresnahan JC, and Beattie MS. P75NTR mediates leukocyte trafficking in the brain after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in mice. In preparation