Allen LeeImage: Allen Lee

Education:

B.S. Stony Brook University (2016)

Current Position:

7th Year MSTP

6th Year Graduate Student

Advisor:

Yusuf A. Hannun

Graduate Program:

Pharmacology

Research Interest:

I’m interested in cancer research, particularly cancer metabolism. The metabolism within the cell often changes as it adopts its cancerous phenotype. Understanding this shift in metabolic processes not only helps us understand normal cellular functions but also how cancer cells can survive. This opens up potential therapeutic targets that may help treat and improve cancer patient outcomes. I am currently studying sphingolipid metabolism in breast cancer, particularly ceramide metabolism into ceramide-1-phosphate. My project is working toward mapping out the signaling pathway of cermamide-1-phosphate.

I am also interested in post-translational modifications, mainly glycosylation, of proteins and its effects on cancer. I have previously studied the effects of O-fucosylation of the EGF-like motifs of the Notch receptor on Notch cell-surface expression in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines.