@TheLeeLab profile picture
Michael J. Lee @TheLeeLab

A Laboratory of Systems Pharmacology

Joined September 2013
  • Tweets 714
  • Following 906
  • Followers 744
102 Photos and videos
I really enjoyed this "Snippet" about our recent paper describing PDAR. lifescienceeditors.com/2025/…

Why cells die without Pol II - Scientific editing and writing experts - Life Science Editors

Scientific editing and writing experts for manuscripts and grants

lifescienceeditors.com
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Michael J. Lee retweeted
MIT Dept of BE@MITdeptofBE
1 Oct 2025
BE Seminar Series returns with @TheLeeLab, @UMassChan “Life, Death, and the Discovery of the Pol II Degradation-dependent Apoptotic Response (PDAR)” 32-141, 4p, 10/2 ow.ly/WiQh50X5aLh
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Michael J. Lee retweeted
Cell@CellCellPress
16 Aug 2025
Now online! RNA Pol II inhibition activates cell death independently from the loss of transcription dlvr.it/TMWhrz

RNA Pol II inhibition activates cell death independently from the loss of transcription

When RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II) is inhibited, the inhibition is sensed and signaled to mitochondria, leading to programmed cell death independently of the loss of RNA Pol II transcription...

cell.com
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We just posted a preprint about a death mechanism that we find truly surprising. When you turn off transcription, cells die (duh!) but did you know this happens due to loss of Pol II itself, not loss of Pol II activity! preprint here and a thread (1/n): biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…

Pol II degradation activates cell death independently from the loss of transcription

Pol II-mediated transcription is essential for eukaryotic life. While loss of transcription is thought to be universally lethal, the associated mechanisms promoting cell death are not yet known....

biorxiv.org
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The answer is about analytical resolution!!! The way we measure drug responses makes drug-induced growth rates and death rates very clear. More conventional approaches just can't see these distinctions clearly, masking this crazy phenotype. (8/end)
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I don't post in this space much anymore... I can be found on other platforms using the same handle.
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It's challenging to uncouple Pol II expression from Pol II activity (Pol II activity creates Pol II expression) but we managed! We did many things, but the most notable is that we suppressed lethality caused by loss of Pol II by giving cells a non-functional form of Pol II! (4/n)
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Michael J. Lee retweeted
UW Pharmacology@UWPharmacology
30 Oct 2024
Please RT! We are officially accepting applications to the @UW Pharmacology PhD program! Are you excited about doing a PhD in a cutting-edge, multidisciplinary community that spans all levels of pharmacology? Come join us! Deadline is Dec. 1. pharmacology.uw.edu/graduate…

Admissions - UW Pharmacology

pharmacology.uw.edu
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The SACB Abstract deadline is this Friday. This is an awesome community and always a very engaging meeting. Join us in Colorado this February!
CancerSystemsBiology@CancerSysBio
28 Oct 2024
Abstracts are due this Friday for #SACB2025! A great meeting for those who are employing systems approaches in cancer. We have an incredible array of speakers and a fantastic new location near Denver, Colorado.
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Michael J. Lee retweeted
CancerSystemsBiology@CancerSysBio
22 Oct 2024
Systems approaches to cancer biology meeting (SACB2025) is coming up! The abstract deadline and application to be part of our SACB 2025 Scholar program is Friday, November 1. Check out the details at sacbmeeting.org

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Michael J. Lee retweeted
Michael Yaffe@mbyaffe
8 Oct 2024
Thrilled to share our latest story on 5-FU inducing RNA damage during ribosome biogenesis - cell.com/cell-reports-medici…. The whole thing started when Karl and Jung-Kuei were trying to figure out hiow limiting dNTPS skewed DNA repair. Never thought it would be RNA and tge ribosome!

An RNA damage response network mediates the lethality of 5-FU in colorectal cancer

5-fluorouracil’s utility in cancer treatment has been attributed to inducing dNTP imbalance and DNA damage in cancer cells. Here, Chen et al. demonstrate that 5-FU’s efficacy results instead from RNA...

cell.com
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Michael J. Lee retweeted
The Nobel Prize
@NobelPrize
7 Oct 2024
Congratulations to our 2024 medicine laureate Victor Ambros ✨ This morning he celebrated the news of his prize with his colleague and wife Rosalind Lee, who was also the first author on the 1993 'Cell' paper cited by the Nobel Committee. #NobelPrize
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Michael J. Lee retweeted
UMass Chan Medical School
@UMassChan
7 Oct 2024
Victor R. Ambros, PhD, @UMassChan's Silverman Chair in Natural Sciences and professor of molecular medicine, has won a Nobel Prize. Media: Email UMassChanCommunications@umassmed.edu for news conference info and interview requests. #NobelPrize #BreakingNews #AdvancingTogether
Congratulations to Nobel Prize winner Victor R. Ambros, PhD, of UMass Chan Medical School

ALT Congratulations to Nobel Prize winner Victor R. Ambros, PhD, of UMass Chan Medical School

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Michael J. Lee retweeted
Zhe Wang@ZheWang_NCB
13 Sep 2024
1/ 📢 Our special issue on #celldeath is now live @NatureCellBio, which features Editorial, Reviews, Perspective, Comment, Research Highlights, Research Articles and so many more! 👉Click and enjoy the reading: nature.com/collections/fffdb… nature.com/articles/s41556-0…

Focus on cell death

Our understanding of distinct and diverse modes of cell death and their contributions to homeostasis and disease has significantly progressed in recent years. ...

nature.com
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Bonsai Bar event at @RR_BrewingCo last night to celebrate @meganhoneywell and her amazing career in the Lee Lab @UMassChan @UMassChanGSBS. before & after pics of my bonsai included. no idea what i'm doing, but the folks at Bonsai Bar did their best with my lack of ability.
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