Our lab team is made up of enthusiastic and highly skilled scientists who work collaboratively to understand the basic mechanisms of epithelial cell physiology to reveal new insights into the pathophysiology of chronic rhinosinusitis and cystic fibrosis, in collaboration with the Penn Rhinology Lab. We also study mechanisms of cell signaling in head and neck cancer, working closely with the Carey Lab.
Current Lee Lab Members
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| Rob Lee Principle Investigator (2015-present) Associate Professor of Otorhinolaryngology (primary) and Physiology (secondary) Email: rjl [at] pennmedicine.upenn.edu [More info] |
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Maureen Victoria Lab Manager/Research Specialist (2015-present) |
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| Katherine (Katie) Rozsypalek Research Specialist (2026-present) |
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| Inès Kouakou Postdoctoral Fellow (2022-present) |
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Alex Simon Postdoctoral Fellow (Summer 2023-present) |
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| Matt Kauffman Penn CAMB/CPM PhD Student (2026-present) |
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| Jordan Williams Penn PGG PhD Student (Summer 2023-present) |
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Ray Ma Penn Undergraduate Researcher (Summer 2024 - present) Summer high school student (Summer 2021 and Summer 2022) |
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| Julia Emmert High School Student Researcher (Summer 2025-2026) Future: Notre Dame undergrad starting fall 2026 |
Jerry Rao
High School Researcher (Summer 2026)
Jenna Aumiller
Postdoctoral Fellow (Coming in Sept 2026)
Sahana Kumar
Postdoctoral Fellow (Coming in Sept 2026)
Liam Wimmer
Penn Undergraduate (Coming Fall 2026)
Lab Alumni
April Park
Penn undergraduate researcher (2023-2026)
Currently: Georgetown University School of Medicine
Maggie Heller
Penn ENT resident researcher (2025-2026 research rotation)
Co-mentored with Dr. Ryan Carey
Currently: Penn ENT chief resident
Louis-Xavier Barrett
Penn ENT resident researcher (2025-2026 research rotation)
Co-mentored with Dr. Ryan Carey
Currently: Penn ENT chief resident
Joel Thompson
Research Specialist (2023-2025)
Currently: Clinical Research Coordinator, Department of Neurology, UPenn
Nabil Darwich
Penn ENT resident researcher (2024-2025 research rotation)
Co-mentored with Ryan Carey
Currently: Penn ENT chief resident -> ENT in private practice
Zoey Miller
Penn Pharmacology Graduate Student (2020-2024)
Blavatnik Fellow, Pharmacology T32 fellow
Currently: Postdoc in Ed Morrisey's lab, UPenn
Arielle Mueller
Penn undergraduate researcher (2022-2024)
Currently: Penn Masters in Bioethics -> Einstein College of Medicine
Robert D Wardlow, II
Penn ENT resident researcher (2023-2024 research rotation)
mentored with Ryan Carey
Currently: Penn ENT chief resident -> ENT in private practice
Kimberly Wei
Penn Med Summer Student (Summer 2023)
mentored with Ryan Carey
Currently: Mass Eye and Ear/Harvard Otolaryngology Resident
Aria Garrett
Penn PGG rotation student (summer 2023)
Currently: Penn PGG student with Vera Moiseenkova-Bell
Derek McMahon
Postdoctoral Fellow (2016-2022)
Currently: Research Scientist II at Integral Molecular
Jennifer (Jenn) Jolivert
Penn Med Year Out Student (2021-2022)
NIDCD Fellow
Currently: Birmingham and Women's/Harvard Psych Residency
Sahil Muthuswami
Brandeis undergraduate researcher (Summer 2022)
Penn Summer Undergraduate Internship Program
Currently: Tufts University School of Medicine
Ryan M. Carey
Otorhinolaryngology Resident Researcher (2020-2023)
Currently: Head and Neck Cancer Fellow at University of Miami -> Started as Penn faculty Aug 2023
Indiwari (Indi) Gopallawa
Postdoctoral Fellow (2018-2021)
Postdoctoral Fellow (2018-2021)
Currently: Senior Scientist, AstraZeneca
Li Eon Kuek
Postdoctoral Fellow (2018-2021)
Currently: Director of Scientific and Medical Development, Citrin Foundation, Singapore
Li Eon Kuek
Postdoctoral Fellow (2018-2021)
Currently: Director of Scientific and Medical Development, Citrin Foundation, Singapore
Rachel Horn
Summer Undergraduate Student from Drexel University (2019)
Currently: Widener University School of Nursing -> Trauma/Neuro/ENT/ED nurse at Jefferson
Veronika Yakovishina
University of Pennsylvania Pharmacology Graduate Group
Rotation Student, Spring-Summer 2019
Currently: Research Specialist, Wistar
Jenna Freund
Research Specialist (Oct. 2016-June 2018)
Currently: PhD student in neuroscience at Einstein (Tishman Scholarship Recipient)
Year-out postbac student (2015-2016)
Currently: ENT residency at NYU -> ENT practicing in Wisconsin
Immunology Graduate Group Rotation Student (Spring 2017)
Currently: Bioinformatician, Beiting Lab, Penn Vet
Maddie Johnson
Part-time undergraduate Student (Summer 2016)
Currently: Sr. Software Safety Engineer, Medtronic
Supriya Saxena
Part-time lab member (independent study project 2017)
University of Pennsylvania Biotechnology Masters Student
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Currently: Analytics Consultant, IQVIA
Paige Johnson
Part-time lab member (Summer 2017)
Currently: Physical therapist (DPT)
