Ikjae Lee, MD
Dr. Ikjae Lee, MD, is an assistant professor of neurology in the Division of Neuromuscular Medicine at the University of Columbia. He is a clinician-researcher with board-certifications in neurology, neuromuscular medicine, and electrodiagnostic medicine and a focused research interest in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and related motor neuron diseases.
His overall hypothesis is that metabolism plays a key role in the onset and progression of motor neuron degeneration and that novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets can be developed by studying how metabolism is altered in patients and those who carry disease causing pathogenic variants.
Dr. Lee was awarded the 2021 Clinical Research Training Scholarship (CRTS) in ALS from the American Academy of Neurology, co-funded by the CReATe Consortium and the American Brain Foundation. The primary aim was to develop lipid biomarkers to establish early diagnosis and prognosticate disease progression. During the award period, he worked with colleagues and discovered that ALS can be distinguished from primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) patients and healthy people without motor neuron diseases by using their blood lipidome profile and machine learning. These results will be validated in the PLS Natural History cohort through his K23 award project supported by the NINDS. Dr. Lee plans to further expand the scope of his research to broader metabolomics including bile acids, nutritional intervention in ALS to meet the urgent needs of individuals who developed or at risk of motor neuron diseases.
Relevant Publications:
Lee, I et al. (2023). Utilizing machine learning and lipidomics to distinguish primary lateral sclerosis from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Lee, I et al. (2024). Alteration of serum bile acids in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.