Richard T. Lee is Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is a 1979 graduate of Harvard College in Biochemical Sciences and received his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College in 1983. Lee completed his residency in 1986 and cardiology fellowship in 1989, both at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in cardiovascular disease. Lee is Leader of the Cardiovascular Diseases Program of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Circulation.
Dr. Lee has published over 270 peer-reviewed articles based on his research, and teaches undergraduates at Harvard College. In addition, he is an active clinician. He regularly treats patients as a cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Teaching
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SCRB 175Glucose: From Molecule to Society
We explore the biochemistry, cell biology, and physiology that make glucose our main source of energy. How did humans depend on and crave this molecule? What consequences does it hold for normal metabolism and disease? Students will integrate evolution, endocrinology, biostatistics, bioengineering, and regenerative biology approaches in considering sugar and all its consequences. Finally, we will evaluate legal and business issues necessary to move scientific and technical innovations from the laboratory to the patient.
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SCRB 50Building a Human Body: From Gene to Cell to Organism
Through a series of lectures, application exercises and laboratory experiments, we will explore how the human body develops on a molecular level from gene to cell to organ. Ever wonder how you can make heart cells beat in a dish? Why can axolotls regenerate their limbs but humans cannot? How do neurites grow? Can we grow a brain in a cell culture dish? Come join us to discover the answers to these questions and more.
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Gen Ed 1053The Global Heart Disease Epidemic: Stopping What We Started
The epidemic of heart disease has been driven by many social, economic and technological events. Some of these events have been dramatically detrimental to human health, such as the accidental invention of the American cigarette by a slave in North Carolina in the 19th Century—an invention that is projected to kill one billion people between 2000 and 2100. Other events, such as advances in public health and safety, have been beneficial by extending lifespan and preventing early death, but they have also allowed age-related heart diseases to explode. Technological advances have improved our economic productivity but also led to changes in our lifestyles that promote heart diseases. In this course, we consider the complex relationship of health and society by examining the epidemic in common heart diseases. We will also discuss the role of government and our obligations to each other, and to future generations.