Chemist Mijoon Lee was named the 2006 recipient of the Dr. Karl R. Ruddell Scholarship from the Walther Cancer Institute of Indianapolis. Lee is a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Shahriar Mobashery, Navari Family Professor of Life Sciences.

The Ruddell Scholarship is named in honor of the father-in-law of Dr. Joseph Walther, the founder of the institute. The late Dr. Ruddell was skilled surgeon who stressed scholarship and training for medical researchers. The scholarship is given annually to a student who is a recent recipient or currently in pursuit of a medical and/or postdoctoral degree in biomedical sciences or biomedical engineering.

Lee joined the Mobashery cancer metastasis project upon coming to Notre Dame in 2003. The laboratory focused on two enzymes, matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 (MMP-2 and -9), which have emerged as culprits in many cancer metastases. There are currently no treatments available to prevent metastasis.

Members of the project broke new ground several years ago by conceiving and preparing the first selective gelatinase inhibitor. Since joining the laboratory, Lee has synthesized approximately 70 structural variants of of SB-3CT, the prototype inhibitor, to both explore the basis for its antimetastatic behavior and for the development of the second- and third generation molecules. She has developed no less that four distinct synthetic strategies to this important family of compounds, which brings complete access to the experimentalist to these types of molecules. These molecules now can be prepared routinely in the Mobashery lab in bench quantity and in large quantity for the various animal studies. Lee subsequently worked with another postdoctoral fellow in explaining the metabolic processing of a new compound called SB-3CT, which targeted a class of enzymes called gelatinases selectively. Their explanation of SB-3CT's actions both in vitro and in vivo paved the way for development of newer longer-lasting inhibitors and which improved inhibitory activity toward the target enzymes. The molecules that Dr. Lee has developed are being used by at least a dozen other laboratories in various applications that will be communicated in the near future.

“Here is a young scientist who has single-handedly made a dramatic impact on a field that is unquestionably important in understanding and intervention of cancer,” Mobashery said in his letter nominating her for the award.

Lee received her Ph.D. from the Pohang University of Science and Technology (Postech) from South Korea. She worked with Professor Dong Kim, the former Chairperson of the Department of Chemistry and of the Institute of Biomolecular Sciences. Postech is one of the premier institutions of higher learning in Asia and it is patterned after the MIT in its development over the years.