Wei-Hua Lee PhD

Wei-Hua Lee, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
James W. Riley Hospital for Children

M.D., Capital Institute of Medical Sciences, Peking, China, 1982
Ph.D., Indiana University School of Medicine, 1988
Clinical Pharmacology Fellow, Eli Lilly & Co 1988-1990
Fellowship: NIH 1990-1992

Dr. Lee’s academic interests include the analysis of the role of insulin like growth factor - 1 (IGF-1) and IGF binding proteins in the growth and development of the nervous system. Using rodent models hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and neurodegeneration, Dr. Lee has characterized the molecular mechanism of neuronal apoptosis and survival. In recent experiments, breeding transgenic mice with over production of IGF-1 with mutant mice deficient in Purkinje cell development has led to some evidence of rescue of the neurodevelopmental abnormalities in the mutant mice. In addition, Dr. Lee has demonstrated that IGF-I promotes neuronal survival in young brains and therefore may be used as a potential treatment for HIE in the future.