Physician-Investigator Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital

Chair, Molecular Biology Massachusetts General Hospital

Professor of Genetics Harvard Medical School

Investigator Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Affiliate Faculty Harvard Stem Cell Institute

Associate Member Broad Institute

chromatin; chromatin modifiers; dosage compensation genetic; epigenesis genetic; epigenetics; genomic imprinting; lncrnas; long non-coding rnas; muscular dystrophy; rett syndrome; rna long untranslated; rna untranslated; transcriptomes; x chromosome; x chromosome inactivation; x-inactivation center; xci

Researchers in the Lee Lab use state-of-the-art technologies in molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, and embryology to understand how one X-chromosome is turned off in the female but not in the male.

Our lab studies how male (XY) and female (XX) cells use a mechanism called X-chromosome inactivation to achieve equality of sex chromosome gene expression.

Our studies are focused on three noncoding RNA loci whose actions coordinate the many steps of X-chromosome inactivation. We are also interested in the mechanistic and evolutionary relationship between X- inactivation and imprinting. Recent work by the Lee Lab suggests that imprinted X-chromosome inactivation is directly connected to meiotic sex chromosome inactivation in the male germ line.