Jenny Sooyeon Lee

Jenny Sooyeon Lee, PhD, Instructor, Division of Endocrinology, Gerontology and Metabolism, Stanford University School of Medicine 

Research Description: Aging is a major risk factor for Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). Dr. Lee’s research focuses on understanding how the age-dependent evolution of mitochondrial function and metabolic behavior in β-cells contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetes. Specializing in islet-specific Seahorse mitochondrial bioenergetics technology and high-throughput mitochondrial probing analysis, Dr. Lee currently investigates the unexplored role of a key mitochondrial enzyme, Succinate Dehydrogenase (SDH) in β-cells. Her research aims to define the impact of SDH on succinate signaling, mitochondrial metabolism, and cellular senescence of β-cell aging. In addition to her work on β-cell mitochondrial function, Dr. Lee works closely with Dr. Justin Annes on β-cell regenerative biology. She also collaborates with several SDRC members to develop new therapeutics for diabetes.

Selected relevant publications (Stanford DRC members are in BOLD)

1. Lee S, Xu H, Van Vleck A, Mawla AM, Li AM, Ye J, Huising MO, Annes JP. β-Cell Succinate Dehydrogenase Deficiency Triggers Metabolic Dysfunction and Insulinopenic Diabetes. Diabetes. 2022 Jul 1;71(7):1439-1453. doi: 10.2337/db21-0834. PMID: 35472723.

2. Abdolazimi Y, Zhao Z, Lee S, Xu H, Allegretti P, Horton TM, Yeh B, Moeller HP, Nichols RJ, McCutcheon D, Shalizi A, Smith M, Armstrong NA, Annes JP. CC-401 Promotes β-Cell Replication via Pleiotropic Consequences of DYRK1A/B Inhibition. Endocrinology. 2018 Sep 1;159(9):3143-3157. doi: 10.1210/en.2018-00083. PMID: 29514186.

3. Horton TM, Allegretti PA, Lee S, Moeller HP, Smith M, Annes JP. Zinc-Chelating Small Molecules Preferentially Accumulate and Function within Pancreatic β Cells. Cell Chem Biol. 2019 Feb 21;26(2):213-222.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2018.10.019. Epub 2018 Dec 6. PMID: 30527998.