Lee chosen for prestigious Pioneer Award by NIH

National Institutes of Health Director's
Pioneer Award Website

Deemed a true pioneer in groundbreaking research, Dr. Cheng Chi Lee, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, is one of only 13 winners of the prestigious 2006 National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award. Dr. Elias Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health, announced winners Sept. 19 at the Pioneer Award Symposium in Bethesda, Md.

"The 2006 Pioneer Award recipients are a diverse group of forward-thinking scientists whose work could transform medical research," Zerhouni said. "The awards will give them the intellectual freedom to pursue exciting new research directions and opportunities in a range of scientific areas, from computational biology to immunology, stem cell biology, nanotechnology, and drug development."

From the award, Lee will receive $2.5 million in direct costs over five years to study suspended animation in non-hibernating mammals. Lee said the award is not only a win for himself but represents an even bigger win for science and for the Medical School.

"I felt very excited for the school itself to have science at this level," Lee said. "I hope this award will also highlight the quality of science that's coming out of UT."

Making the cut to win a Pioneer Award is a challenging process, which began with 465 applicants from across the United States. NIH reviewers evaluated the eligibility of applicants before turning them over to a group of scientific experts who decided the top 25 finalists. A second league of experts then interviewed each finalist in August. For Lee, getting to that stage of the competition was exhilarating.

"You basically realize you're looking at the top 2 percent of the applicants," Lee said. "To be picked says a lot about my own work, as well as the process and the reason they're willing to pick in this direction of biomedical research."

After the interviews, an NIH advisory committee performed a final review before making recommendations to Zerhouni.

The Pioneer Awards are a key component of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research, and they support exceptionally creative scientists who take highly innovative approaches to major challenges in biomedical research. With the award's funding, Lee will be able to build upon an earlier molecular discovery and refine it to study suspended animation, which is a process observed in hibernating animals.

"A hibernating animal's body temperature is very low," Lee said. "The animal is not eating and not doing many of the daily activities that you and I would classify as necessary for life. Yet, when we think about it long term, these animals wake up after winter and are perfectly normal. To me, it's an incredible scientific fascination how mammals can achieve this state."

Lee's discovery of a molecule, known as 5-prime adenosine monophosphate (5'-AMP), turned on a switch in mice that induced a state of torpor, causing their body temperatures to drop. The mice slipped into an inactive state that was somewhat analogous to hibernation.

"That discovery gave us a first insight into how body temperature can be controlled," Lee said. "If we can control body temperature with 5'-AMP, it could potentially allow us to mimic the process seen in hibernating animals called suspended animation."

If Lee can reproduce suspended animation in non-hibernating mammals, he said it could have enormous medical impacts for humans. By bringing body temperature down safely, treatments for brain injury, heart attacks, and other diseases and injuries could be developed.

Dr. Rodney Kellems, professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, said Lee's history of research achievements and progress deserves the recognition the Pioneer Award brings.

"Dr. Lee's research has consistently been conducted in the best tradition of investigator-initiated and curiosity-driven biomedical research," Kellems said. "For nearly two decades, he has made significant and seminal contributions to human genetics and circadian biology. Very few individuals have the energy and creative talent to function at the forefront of scientific research for this length of time. Dr. Lee's creativity is sustained by a passion for science and an appetite for research discovery that shows no sign of abatement."

Lee joined the Medical School in 2003, and in the short time he has been with the school, he is regarded as a cutting-edge scientist.

"It is wonderful to know that we are recruiting young scientists at the UT Medical School who are capable of pushing the frontiers of medical research forward," said Dr. Jerry Wolinsky, interim dean of the Medical School.

-C. Webb