UNC Department of Radiology congratulates Associate Professor of Radiology Yueh Z. Lee, MD, PhD, for being named in March 2021 by the UNC School of Medicine (SOM) as one of three 5th Annual Yang Family Biomedical Scholars. Sponsored by UNC alumnus Lenovo CEO and Mr. Yuanqing Yang, this scholarship program annually welcomes select, outstanding SOM investigators who have contributed to the biomedical research field impactfully and garnered national recognition of their work. Over a three-year period, the Yang Scholars program will permit Dr. Lee to use at his discretion $75,000 in award funding toward advancing biomedical investigative projects tied to the UNC SOM.
Over almost 10 years on faculty, Dr. Lee has become a sought-after and accomplished translational scientist at UNC. He leads collaborative, cross-disciplinary investigation toward developing novel imaging techniques and devices to enhance biomedical understanding and diagnostic capability of diseases via first-in-human studies. Dr. Lee has received many UNC SOM top honors, including: 1) UNC SOM Pilot Award – Computational Medicine Program (2019); 2) UNC SOM Academy of Educators (2018); 3) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) Clinical Fellows Award (2012) – Neuroradiology; and 4) Annual Radiology Research Symposium Award – Best Basic Sciences Presentation (2008, 2009) – Diagnostic Radiology.
Dr. Lee has centered his investigative focus around meeting present-day clinical needs via developing novel imaging techniques and devices that have pre-clinical application. In response to the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, Dr. Lee shifted his investigative focus to innovating supply chain critical care solutions. Over months, he led a UNC/NC State University cross-disciplinary team in collaboratively designing and prototyping an open-source ventilator – the Carolina Respiratory Emergency Ventilator (CaRE-Vent) – that would fill an anticipated critical equipment gap with a projected COVID-19 case spike.
UNC SOM Vice Dean for Research Blossom Damania, PhD, and Boshamer Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Immunology stated of the 2021 Yang Scholars: “Drs. Lee, Liu, and Smith have already conducted seminal research early in their careers, and we look forward to their innovative work breaking new ground in the years to come. We are proud to include them as our newest Yang Family Biomedical Scholars, and we are thankful for Mr. Yang’s generous support, which allows young scientists further opportunities to pursue new research endeavors at an important time in their careers.”
* Read the April 5th, 2021 UNC SOM/UNC Health Newsroom article announcing winners of the 5th Annual Yang Family Biomedical Scholars Award.