Sulggi Lee, MD, PhD

Associate Professor
Medicine
[email protected]
+1 415 735-5127
Research Description: 

Sulggi Lee, MD PhD, is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and a faculty member in the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine. She also serves as an attending physician at the San Francisco General Hospital inpatient infectious diseases and HIV consult service and in the Ward 86 HIV Clinic. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in human biology from Stanford University, she received her MD/PhD degree from the University of Southern California in Epidemiology. She completed her Internal Medicine residency training at Stanford Hospital and Clinics and Infectious Diseases fellowship at UCSF.

Her research focuses on the complex interactions between host immunity and pathogens. Through patient-oriented studies, her team uses advanced genetic, immunologic, and mathematical modeling to identify host-specific mechanisms of disease. Projects include studies investigating the effect of chronic inflammation on cardiovascular disease, host factors involved in HIV persistence, and the impact of methamphetamine (MA) use on worsening health outcomes in people with HIV (PWH). The overarching goal of the research is to improve outcomes for individuals affected by infectious diseases and substance use disorders.

Dr. Lee is the PI of UCSF Treat Acute HIV cohort, which provides immediate antiretroviral therapy (ART) to newly diagnosed acute HIV individuals in the San Francisco Bay Area, PI of the Effect of Methamphetamine on Residual Latent HIV Disease (EMRLHD) cohort, Co-I of the UCSF SCOPE HIV cohort, which includes over 2,500 HIV+ infected participants, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, she developed the acute COVID-19 Host Immune Response Pathogenesis (CHIRP) cohort. Her current funding includes an NIH NIAID R01 grant to explore the mechanisms by which NOD-like receptor 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome signaling drives systemic inflammation during chronic treated HIV disease, an NIH NIDA R61/R33 award to identify mechanisms by which methamphetamine (MA) contributes immune dysfunction and residual HIV transcription during ART, and an NIAID R56/R01 award to characterize early host responses during acute treated HIV.

Primary Thematic Area: 
Human Genetics
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Immunology
Research Summary: 
Clinical translational research to identify host genetic and immunologic predictors of infectious diseases (e.g., HIV and SARS-CoV-2) using high dimensional single cell and systems biology approaches.

Websites

Featured Publications: 

SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells exhibit unique features characterized by robust helper function, lack of terminal differentiation, and high proliferative potential.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology

Neidleman J, Luo X, Frouard J, Xie G, Gurjot G, Stein ES, McGregor M, Ma T, George AF, Kosters A, Greene WC, Vasquez J, Ghosn E, Lee S, Roan NR

Antiretroviral Therapy Concentrations Differ in Gut vs. Lymph Node Tissues and Are Associated With HIV Viral Transcription by a Novel RT-ddPCR Assay.

Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999)

Lee SA, Telwatte S, Hatano H, Kashuba ADM, Cottrell ML, Hoh R, Liegler TJ, Stephenson S, Somsouk M, Hunt PW, Deeks SG, Yukl S, Savic RM

Gut and blood differ in constitutive blocks to HIV transcription, suggesting tissue-specific differences in the mechanisms that govern HIV latency.

PLoS pathogens

Telwatte S, Lee S, Somsouk M, Hatano H, Baker C, Kaiser P, Kim P, Chen TH, Milush J, Hunt PW, Deeks SG, Wong JK, Yukl SA

Population Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Disulfiram on Inducing Latent HIV-1 Transcription in a Phase IIb Trial.

Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics

Lee SA, Elliott JH, McMahon J, Hartogenesis W, Bumpus NN, Lifson JD, Gorelick RJ, Bacchetti P, Deeks SG, Lewin SR, Savic RM

Immunologic Pathways That Predict Mortality in HIV-Infected Ugandans Initiating Antiretroviral Therapy.

The Journal of infectious diseases

Lee S, Byakwaga H, Boum Y, Burdo TH, Williams KC, Lederman MM, Huang Y, Tracy RP, Cao H, Haberer JE, Kembabazi A, Bangsberg DR, Martin JN, Hunt PW

Anti-HIV Antibody Responses and the HIV Reservoir Size during Antiretroviral Therapy.

PloS one

Lee SA, Bacchetti P, Chomont N, Fromentin R, Lewin SR, O'Doherty U, Palmer S, Richman DD, Siliciano JD, Yukl SA, Deeks SG, Burbelo PD

Host genetic predictors of the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan catabolism among treated HIV-infected Ugandans.

AIDS (London, England)

Lee SA, Mefford JA, Huang Y, Witte JS, Martin JN, Haas DW, Mclaren PJ, Mushiroda T, Kubo M, Byakwaga H, Hunt PW, Kroetz DL

Low proportions of CD28- CD8+ T cells expressing CD57 can be reversed by early ART initiation and predict mortality in treated HIV infection.

The Journal of infectious diseases

Lee SA, Sinclair E, Jain V, Huang Y, Epling L, Van Natta M, Meinert CL, Martin JN, McCune JM, Deeks SG, Lederman MM, Hecht FM, Hunt PW

Impact of HIV on CD8+ T cell CD57 expression is distinct from that of CMV and aging.

PloS one

Lee SA, Sinclair E, Hatano H, Hsue PY, Epling L, Hecht FM, Bangsberg DR, Martin JN, McCune JM, Deeks SG, Hunt PW