Lee Lab

Cardiovascular Biology Research Program

News

March 2026

  • On March 4, 2026, a manuscript titled “SARM1 regulates BNIP3-mediated mitochondrial quality control in diabetic hearts” by Hina Lateef Nizami, Keaton Minor, Patrycja Szybowska, Ignacy Gorecki, Lindsay Best, Christine Light, Pratyaksh Singhal, Xiaolu Cambronne, Ying Ann Chiao, and Chi Fung Lee was accepted for publication as a Research Letter in Circulation Research.

December 2025

  • On December 4, 2025, Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Hina Nizami was recognized as one of the Top Two Postdoctoral Presenters in ISHR Early Career Winter Webinar and received a $1,000 Travel Award to support her participation at next year’s ISHR–North American Section meeting.

November 2025

  • Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Hina Nizami received First Prize in the Diabetic Complications category for her scientific presentation at the 2025 Diabetes Research Symposium on November 14, 2025. This recognition highlights the excellence and impact of her ongoing research in diabetes and its complications.

September 2025

  • Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Hina Nizami and Graduate Student Keaton Minor Awarded 2025 BCVS Abstract Travel Grant to attend Scientific Sessions 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana this November. This award proudly supports the research efforts of early career investigators and trainees of all backgrounds.

August 2025

  • The American Heart Association has awarded Dr. Hina Nizami, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Lee Lab, a prestigious Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship for her project titled “Role of SARM1 NAD+ hydrolase in mitophagy and diabetic cardiomyopathy.” As part of this recognition, Dr. Nizami has been invited to present her research at this year’s Scientific Sessions during an Early Innovators Spotlight oral session.

January 2025

  • Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Hina Nizami Awarded a Two-Year American Heart Association Fellowship to Advance Research on the Molecular Causes of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy!

March 2024

  • In March 2024, Dr. Haiyu Chen (MD/PhD) joined the Lee Laboratory as a Visiting Scholar, bringing advanced expertise in Myocardial Infarction surgery in murine models to support ongoing cardiovascular research.
  • During the same month, Pratyaksh Singhal joined the Lee Laboratory as a Research Technician following the completion of his undergraduate degree in Genetics at the University of Manitoba, where he gained foundational experience in molecular biology and laboratory research.

June 2023

  • At the Keystone Symposia in Santa Fe, NM, Dr. Chi Fung Lee presented in the session titled 'Heart Failure: All Cells Considered.'
  • Dr. Lee participated in the QMUL Cardiovascular Seminar Series organized at Queen Mary University of London.
  • Tranquil Holder joins the lab as a new Research Technician. Welcome, Tranquil!

September 2022

  • Dr. Chi Fung Lee was invited to speak at the Seminar Series hosted by the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR.
  • Dr. Chi Fung Lee participated in the Seminar Series organized by the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Centre (OUHSC).

November 2022

  • Dr. Chi Fung Lee presented an abstract oral session at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions in Chicago, IL.
  • Dr. Chi Fung Lee was a featured speaker in the Plenary Session at the 29th Annual Conference of Society for Redox Biology and Medicine (SfRBM) in Orlando, FL!

April 2022

  • Dr. Chi Fung Lee gave an oral presentation at the Spotlight Session – Mitochondrial Metabolism at the Annual Meeting of American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) on April 4, 2022.
    • Dr. Chi Fung Lee was awarded with the 2022 Early Career Faculty Travel Award for the participation of the Annual Meeting of ASBMB 2022.

March 2022

  • Dr. Chi Fung Lee was invited to speak at 4th Annual Gulf Coast Vascular Research Consortium on March 18, 2022.

October 2021

  • Dr. Chi Fung Lee has recently joined and will serve at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Membership Committee from November 2021 to October 2024.

September 2021

Dr. Akash Chakraborty presented his findings as a poster abstract at the International Society for Heart Research North American Section (ISHR-NAS) meeting in Denver, CO.

June 2021

  • June 7th, 2021: Our first manuscript entitled 'NAD redox imbalance in the heart exacerbates diabetic cardiomyopathy' was accepted for publication at Circulation: Heart Failure
    • Authors: Ying Ann Chiao, PhD, Akash Deep Chakraborty, PhD, Christine M. Light, BS, Rong Tian, MD PhD, Junichi Sadoshima, MD PhD, Xiaojian Shi, PhD, Haiwei Gu PhD, Chi Fung Lee PhD

January 2021

  • Keaton Minor joins Dr. Lee's Lab for his PhD thesis study!
  • Pilot grant funded on mitochondria, oxidative stress and arrhythmia by the Oklahoma Nathan Shock Center on Aging.

November 2020

  • Invited to talk at the Annual Symposium of the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) in November 2020

July 2020

  • Recent manuscript uploaded to bioRxiv (Circulation: Heart Failure) here
    • or copy and paste this link: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.07.03.183111v1

June 2020

  • Chi Fung Lee Ph.D. gives a virtual talk at American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Spotlight Sessions on June 16, 2020. His talk is available online and can be accessed by clicking here!

March 2020

  • The lab says farewell to one of our Research Technicians, Huyen Tran. Thank you for being a part of the lab, we wish you well on your new path in life!
  • Akash Chakraborty joins the lab as our new Post Doc.

February 2020

  • Abstracts were accepted for poster presentation by American Physiological Society (APS) in Experimental Biology (EB) - 2020 San Diego CA.
    • Abstract title: Roles of NAD metabolism in diabetic cardiomyopathy (ID: R2626; Session title: Cardiovascular Disease and Metabolic Disorders I). Please come and visit us!
  • Abstracts were accepted for poster and oral presentation by American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) in Experimental Biology (EB) - 2020 San Diego CA.
    • Abstract title: NAD redox imbalance drives diabetic cardiomyopathy: Roles of oxidative stress and post-translational modifications (ID: R4364; Poster session title: Diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome; Oral session title: Spotlight session – NAD synthesis, salvage and sirtuins in tissue health). Please come and visit us!

December 2019

  • Lee Laboratory received a research grant from the Oklahoma Center for Adult Stem Cell Research (OCASCR).

November 2019

Lee Laboratory presented at the American Heart Associati0n (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2019 in a moderated digital poster section.
  • Abstract title: NAD+ Redox Imbalance Accelerates Diabetic Cardiomyopathy: Roles of NAD+ Metabolism, Protein Modifications and Oxidative Stress

September 2019

Lee Laboratory hosted Dr. Junichi Sadoshima from the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School for the OMRF Research Forum on September 19.

July 2019

  • Lee Laboratory presented a poster at Basic Cardiovascular Sciences (BCVS) Scientific Sessions 2019.
    • Abstract title: NAD(H) Redox Imbalance in the Heart Accelerates Diabetic Cardiomyopathy
  • Lee Laboratory received funding from Presbyterian Health Foundation for the generation of genetic models studying NAD+ metabolism.

May 2019

Huyen Tran joined Dr. Lee's Lab on May 20th as the new research technician! Welcome to the lab, Huyen!

February 2019

Christine Light joins OMRF and Dr. Lee's Lab as a Research Technician!

January 2019

Dr. Lee joins the Cardiovascular Biology Department at Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) and starts up his new lab in the Research Tower! View his future plans for the laboratory by visiting the Research tab!