Education
M.S. Chemistry, Northeastern University in Boston (1997)
Ph.D. Biomedical Sciences, concentration in Medicinal Chemistry, Northeastern University in Boston (2000)

Contact Information
343 Dow Hall, Dept. Chemistry
Phone: (989) 774-3289 Fax: (989)-774-3883
e-mail:: lee1cy@cmich.edu

Research Fields
Synthesis of dendrimers
Development of effective bioconjugation linkers
Development of benign plasticizers

Current Research Projects
My current research projects are as follows.
1. Synthesis of dendrimer-based drug delivery vehicle My research group is presently synthesizing various dendrimers to use as drug delivery vehicles. The dendrimer surface will be modified with drug molecules and targeting agents. The targeting agents will direct the dendrimer-drug conjugate to the diseased site, thus localizing therapeutics in the target organ. The drug delivery vehicle we are developing can be used for many different diseases by changing the surface drug molecules and targeting agents.
2. Synthesis and evaluation of bioconjugation linkers Another area of my research is the development of effective bioconjugation linkers. Most currently available bioconjugation linkers have functional groups that are unstable in water, thus not useful for biological agents. In my laboratory, we are developing hetero-bi-functional linkers that contain two different reactive ends that are stable in water. These linkers will then join two biomolecules in a simple and efficient manner.
3. Synthesis of benign plasticizers Plasticizers are chemicals added to plastics to increase their flexibility. Since the plasticizer molecules are not covalently attached to the plastics, they can leach out. Many currently used plasticizers are toxic and therefore pose health hazards. Our aim is to develop plasticizers which are nontoxic to humans. We are trying to develop the plasticizers using amino acids and biodegradable bio-based materials (e.g. lactic acid, ethanol, succinic acid, lysine, etc).