Special Awards - The 2019 spirit of Budapest pioneer award

The 2019 Spirit of Budapest Awardee

Dr. Amy Lee is Freeman Chair of Basic Science and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Lee’s research focusses on the mammalian stress response and the molecular chaperone GRP78/BiP. Her lab is the first to clone the mammalian genes encoding for a set of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-inducible glucose regulated proteins (GRPs) and has made numerous discoveries in understanding how these genes are regulated and their role in development and human diseases. Dr. Lee’s lab established that GRP78/BiP is a major contributor for tumorigenesis, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. Her work further leads to new understanding on how stress induces GRP78/BiP translocation to exert new functions beyond the ER, with wide implications for clinical applications.