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John K. Lee, MD, PhD

  • Hematology Oncology
Westwood Urology | 200 Medical Plaza, Suite 140, Los Angeles, CA 90095

About

John K. Lee is a physician-scientist and Associate Professor-in-Residence in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine and the Institute for Urologic Oncology, Department of Urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He received an A.B. with highest honors in Biochemical Sciences at Harvard University and an M.D. at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth during which he participated in the HHMI-NIH Research Scholars Program. Dr. Lee completed his clinical training in internal medicine at Boston Medical Center and Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) fellowship in medical oncology at UCLA where he obtained a Ph.D. from the Molecular Biology Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Owen Witte. He specializes in genitourinary oncology, specifically caring for patients with advanced prostate and bladder cancer. Dr. Lee also leads a federally funded basic and translational research laboratory within the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center focused on untangling diverse genotype-phenotype relationships in cancer and developing new immune-based strategies to effectively treat prostate and bladder cancer. 

Languages

English

Education

Fellowship

Hematology & Oncology, UCLA School of Medicine, 2013

Residency

Internal Medicine, Boston Medical Center, 2009

Degrees

PhD, UCLA, 2016
MD, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, 2006

Recognitions

  • Member Election, American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), 2024
  • Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation Medical Research Award, 2022
  • NCI Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) Program Top Tier Application and Partnership, 2021
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Hospital Affiliations

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center

Research

Interests

Dr. Lee's current research interests are focused on prostate and bladder cancer and involve 1) understanding how genetic abnormalities cooperate to initiate and establish distinct cancer subtypes; 2) developing new antibody-drug conjugate, chimeric antigen receptor T cell, and T cell receptor (TCR) T cell therapies; and 3) investigating novel approaches to potentiate the effectiveness of immunotherapies. 

Insurance

  • Aetna
  • Anthem Blue Cross
  • Blue Shield of California
  • Centivo
  • Cigna
  • First Health
  • Health Net of California
  • Interplan (part of HealthSmart)
  • L.A. Care
  • MultiPlan
  • UFCM Health System
  • Prime Health Services
  • Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
  • TRICARE
  • UnitedHealthcare

The list of health care plans above may not be comprehensive and could change. 
Please contact your benefits coordinator or health insurance company directly to verify coverage.

Visit our health insurance information page for more details.

Recognitions

  • Member Election, American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), 2024
  • Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation Medical Research Award, 2022
  • NCI Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) Program Top Tier Application and Partnership, 2021
  • NIH Director's New Innovator (DP2) Award, 2021
  • Atomwise Artificial Intelligence Molecular Screen (AIMS) Award, 2021
  • Robert & Susan Hollander Foundation Research Award, 2021
  • American Urological Association Early-Career investigators Showcase, Third Place, 2021
  • Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN) Bladder Cancer Research Innovation Award, 2021
  • NIH Early Career Reviewer Program Selection, 2021
  • Society for Basic Urologic Research (SBUR) Young Investigator Award, 2020
  • American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) Young Physician-Scientist Award, 2020
  • Society for Basic Urologic Research (SBUR) Eula and Donald S. Coffey Innovative Research Award, 2019
  • Movember Foundation-Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) Challenge Award, 2019
  • Department of Defense Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program Career Development Award, 2019
  • Safeway Early Career Award in Cancer Research, 2019
  • Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program Physician Research Award, 2017
  • UCLA CTSI KL2 Translational Science Award, 2016
  • UCLA Department of Medicine Research Day, First Place in Basic Research, Junior Faculty Category, 2016
  • Lori Milken-Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) Young Investigator Award, 2015
  • UCLA Department of Medicine Research Innovator Award, 2015
  • Tower Cancer Research Foundation Career Development Award, 2014