Our Team

James Lee, MD is a melanoma oncologist and physician-scientist with over a decade of research experience in immuno-oncology, with expertise in complex preclinical models of checkpoint inhibitor and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapies. His early contribution include the testing of 2nd/3rd generation CAR T cells in syngeneic immunocompetent animal models, results which were later contributed to the establishment of the FDA approved CAR T cell program for CD19+ leukemia/lymphomas. Currently, he is working with the Parker Institute of Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) designing the next generation cancer immunotherapeutics for more precision and efficacy capable of overcoming the tolerant/suppressive tissue-specific tumor microenvironment associated with advanced cancers, with a focus on liver and bone metastasis. At the center of his current interests are methods to combine readily accessible therapeutic modalities such as radiotherapy and surgical metastasectomy with modern immunotherapy to reignite tumor immune responses. Teaming up with world-class basic immunologists and oncologists at UCSF, he is exploring ways to decode the network of organ specific immune-suppressors common in solid malignancies to overcome the body’s peripheral tolerance mechanisms co-opted to shut down current forms of T cell mediated treatments. His hope is to meet these challenges through diligent reversal-translational and bench-to-bedside research and see the next generation of cancer immunotherapy drugs deliver durable and curative responses for more stage IV cancer patients.

Redefining Possible