Education & Training
- Ph.D. in Breast Cancer from Imperial Cancer Research Fund, University of Surrey, England, 2003
- B.Sc. in Biochemistry from University of Kent, England, 1989
Research Interest Summary
Research Categories
Research Interests
Dr. Adrian Lee is Professor of Pharmacology & Chemical Biology and Human Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Dr Lee is the Pittsburgh Foundation Chair and Director of the Institute for Precision Medicine (IPM), a joint effort by the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC to move biomedical research into personalized well-being and clinical care. Dr. Lee received B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in England, and came to San Antonio, Texas for his postdoctoral studies. He was subsequently recruited to Baylor College of Medicine and to the University of Pittsburgh in 2010. Dr Lee has published over 200 peer reviewed research articles (google scholar H-index 76, >15,000 citations). Dr. Lee serves on numerous national peer-review committees and is on the Editorial Board of several journals. In 2018, Dr. Lee was awarded the Terri L Chapman award from Susan G. Komen, the PNC Elsie Hillman Distinguished Scholar award, and the University of Pittsburgh Biomedical Graduate Scholar Association (BGSA) Distinguished Mentor Award.
The Lee/Oesterreich lab is supported by funding from the NIH, Department of Defense, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and other sources. The lab studies the molecular basis of breast cancer development and resistance to therapy, with the goal to improve precision medicine and outcomes for breast cancer patients. The laboratory employs a systems biology approach, utilizing a combination of single cell and bulk sequencing, computational methods, and biological models to identify and validate new drivers and therapeutic targets. Hypotheses are tested in vitro and in vivo and then moved to clinical trials. The majority of studies incorporate analysis of human specimens, in collaboration with a large network of clinicians and nurses. This includes computational analysis and modeling of large biomedical and genomic datasets including electronic health record data.
A major focus of the laboratory is identifying mechanisms of resistance to endocrine therapy, and new approaches to blocking breast cancer metastasis through precision medicine. This includes the study of estrogen receptor (ESR1) mutations and fusions and synergism with growth factor pathways. A special focus is on the understanding of invasive lobular cancer (ILC), the second most common but understudied histological subtype of breast cancer.
The laboratory has a very strong training environment, with attention to diversity and inclusion and each individuals’ successful career development. One of the top priorities is to maintain a healthy lab environment, ensuring high productivity and rigor.
Representative Publications
Foldi J, Oesterreich S, Tin A, Rivero-Hinojosa S, Fielder J, Ferguson J, George GV, Kalashnikova E, Rodriguez AA, Liu MC, Lee AV. Personalized circulating tumor DNA testing for detection of progression and treatment response monitoring in patients with metastatic invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast. JCO Precis Oncol. 2025 May;9:e2400577. doi: 10.1200/PO-24-00577. PMID: 40324116; PMCID: PMC12078558.
Zou J, Li Z, Carleton N, Oesterreich S, Lee AV, Tseng GC. Mutual information for detecting multi-class biomarkers when integrating multiple bulk or single-cell transcriptomic studies. Bioinformatics. 2024 Nov 28;40(12):btae696. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btae696. PMID: 39563471; PMCID: PMC11629966.
Puthanmadhom Narayanan S, Wedn AM, Shah OS, Chen J, Brown DD, McAuliffe PF, Oesterreich S, Lee AV. Transcriptomic analysis identifies enrichment of cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling in invasive lobular breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res. 2024 Oct 30;26(1):149. doi: 10.1186/s13058-024-01900-y. PMID: 39478577; PMCID: PMC11526634.
Carleton N, Radomski TR, Li D, Zou J, Harris J, Hamm M, Wang Z, Saadawi G, Fischer GS, Arnold J, Cowher MS, Lupinacci K, Sabih Q, Steiman J, Johnson RR, Soran A, Diego EJ, Oesterreich S, Tseng G, Lee AV, McAuliffe PF. Electronic health record-based nudge intervention and axillary surgery in older women with breast cancer: a nonrandomized controlled trial. JAMA Surg. 2024 Oct 1;159(10):1117-1125. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2024.2407. PMID: 39018053; PMCID: PMC11255976.
Yates ME, Waltermire H, Mori K, Li Z, Li Y, Guzolik H, Wang X, Liu T, Atkinson JM, Hooda J, Lee AV, Oesterreich S. ESR1 fusions invoke breast cancer subtype-dependent enrichment of ligand-independent oncogenic signatures and phenotypes. Endocrinology. 2024 Aug 27;165(10):bqae111. doi: 10.1210/endocr/bqae111. PMID: 39207954; PMCID: PMC11345082.
Shah OS, Nasrazadani A, Foldi J, Atkinson JM, Kleer CG, McAuliffe PF, Johnston TJ, Stallaert W, da Silva EM, Selenica P, Dopeso H, Pareja F, Mandelker D, Weigelt B, Reis-Filho JS, Bhargava R, Lucas PC, Lee AV, Oesterreich S. Spatial molecular profiling of mixed invasive ductal and lobular breast cancers reveals heterogeneity in intrinsic molecular subtypes, oncogenic signatures, and mutations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Jul 30;121(31):e2322068121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2322068121. PMID: 39042692; PMCID: PMC11295029.
Lei H, Guo XA, Tao Y, Ding K, Fu X, Oesterreich S, Lee AV, Schwartz R. Semi-deconvolution of bulk and single-cell RNA-seq data with application to metastatic progression in breast cancer. Bioinformatics. 2022 Jun 24;38(Suppl 1):i386-i394. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btac262. PMID: 35758822; PMCID: PMC9235482.
Elangovan A, Hooda J, Savariau L, Puthanmadhomnarayanan S, Yates ME, Chen J, Brown DD, McAuliffe PF, Oesterreich S, Atkinson JM, Lee AV. Loss of E-cadherin induces IGF1R activation and reveals a targetable pathway in invasive lobular breast carcinoma. Mol Cancer Res. 2022 Sep;20(9):1410-1422. doi: 10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-22-0090. Epub 2022 Jun 6. PMID: 35665642; PMCID: PMC9444958.
Li Z, McGinn O, Wu Y, Bahreini A, Priedigkeit NM, Ding K, Onkar S, Lampenfeld C, Sartorius CA, Miller L, Rosenzweig M, Cohen O, Wagle N, Richer JK, Muller WJ, Buluwela L, Ali S, Bruno TC, Vignali DAA, Fang Y, Zhu L, Tseng GC, Gertz J, Atkinson JM, Lee AV, Oesterreich S. ESR1 mutant breast cancers show elevated basal cytokeratins and immune activation. Nat Commun. 2022 Apr 19;13(1):2011. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-29498-9. PMID: 35440136; PMCID: PMC9013342.
Li Z, Wu Y, Yates ME, Tasdemir N, Bahreini A, Chen J, Levine KM, Priedigkeit NM, Nasrazadani A, Ali S, Buluwela L, Arnesen S, Gertz J, Richer JK, Troness B, El-Ashry D, Zhang Q, Gerratana L, Zhang Y, Cristofanilli M, Montanez MA, Sundd P, Wallace CT, Watkins SC, Fumagalli C, Guerini-Rocco E, Zhu L, Tseng GC, Wagle N, Carroll JS, Jank P, Denkert C, Karsten MM, Blohmer JU, Park BH, Lucas PC, Atkinson JM, Lee AV, Oesterreich S. Hotspot ESR1 mutations are multimodal and contextual modulators of breast cancer metastasis. Cancer Res. 2022 Apr 1;82(7):1252-1270. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-21-2576. PMID: 35078818; PMCID: PMC8983506.
Carleton N, Nasrazadani A, Gade K, Beriwal S, Barry PN, Brufsky AM, Bhargava R, Berg WA, Zuley ML, van Londen GJ, Marroquin OC, Thull DL, Mai PL, Diego EJ, Lotze MT, Oesterreich S, McAuliffe PF, Lee AV. Personalising therapy for early-stage oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer in older women. Lancet Healthy Longev. 2022 Jan;3(1):e54-e66. doi: 10.1016/S2666-7568(21)00280-4. Epub 2022 Jan 5. PMID: 35047868; PMCID: PMC8765742.
Carleton N, Zou J, Fang Y, Koscumb SE, Shah OS, Chen F, Beriwal S, Diego EJ, Brufsky AM, Oesterreich S, Shapiro SD, Ferris R, Emens LA, Tseng G, Marroquin OC, Lee AV, McAuliffe PF. Outcomes after sentinel lymph node biopsy and radiotherapy in older women with early-stage, estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Apr 1;4(4):e216322. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.6322. PMID: 33856473; PMCID: PMC8050744.
Chen F, Ding K, Priedigkeit N, Elangovan A, Levine KM, Carleton N, Savariau L, Atkinson JM, Oesterreich S, Lee AV. Single-cell transcriptomic heterogeneity in invasive ductal and lobular breast cancer cells. Cancer Res. 2021 Jan 15;81(2):268-281. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-0696. Epub 2020 Nov 4. PMID: 33148662; PMCID: PMC7856056.
Priedigkeit N, Ding K, Horne W, Kolls JK, Du T, Lucas PC, Blohmer JU, Denkert C, Machleidt A, Ingold-Heppner B, Oesterreich S, Lee AV. Acquired mutations and transcriptional remodeling in long-term estrogen-deprived locoregional breast cancer recurrences. Breast Cancer Res. 2021 Jan 6;23(1):1. doi: 10.1186/s13058-020-01379-3. PMID: 33407744; PMCID: PMC7788918.