Pei-Chih Lee is a research biologist specialized in reproductive biology, biobanking, and assisted reproductive technologies. Her research seeks to develop and apply latest biotechnologies to reproductive studies and genome resource banking of rare and endangered species.
Pei-Chih Lee is a research biologist at the Center for Species Survival in Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Lee’s research includes both basic and applied reproductive biology, focusing on feline species. Using the domestic cat model, she is developing a more economical preservation technique that allows gametes and tissues to be stored without the need of liquid nitrogen. Along with her collaborators, Lee has demonstrated the potential of applying microwave-assisted drying technique to the preservation of sperm, oocytes, and gonadal tissues. With more studies and optimizations, she and the team hope to achieve long-term stabilization of dry-preserved cells for storage in refrigerators or at ambient temperatures. Her work on the molecular and cellular regulation of cat oocyte development provided insight for the understanding and future evaluation of assisted reproduction techniques of felids.
Lee plays a key role in coordinating and maintaining the National Zoo’s genome resource banks. These cryopreserved collections are great resources to study and sustain biodiversity. She also supported National Zoo’s breeding programs by participating in estrus monitoring, semen collection and artificial insemination of various species, such as the giant pandas.
Lee earned her bachelor's degree in zoology and Master of Science in molecular medicine from National Taiwan University. She earned her doctorate in molecular biosciences from Northwestern University. She joined the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in 2012, where she works alongside Dr. Pierre Comizzoli to apply her expertise in molecular biology to the study of feline reproduction.
Chavez, Daniela R., Lee, Pei-Chih, and Comizzoli, Pierre. 2021. "Oocyte Meiotic Competence in the Domestic Cat Model: Novel Roles for Nuclear Proteins BRD2 and NPM1." Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology 9:https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2021.6700212021
Lee, Pei-Chih, Wildt, David E., and Comizzoli, Pierre. 2015. "Nucleolar Translocation of Histone Deacetylase 2 Is Involved in Regulation of Transcriptional Silencing in the Cat Germinal Vesicle." Biology of reproduction 93 (2):33. https://doi.org/10.1095/biolreprod.115.1291062015
Wang, Shangping, Lee, Pei-Chih, Elsayed, Amanda, Zhang, Fan, Zhang, Yong, Comizzoli, Pierre, and Elliott, Gloria D. 2021. "Preserving the Female Genome in Trehalose Glass at Supra-Zero Temperatures: The Relationship Between Moisture Content and DNA Damage in Feline Germinal Vesicles." Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, 14, (1) 101–112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12195-020-00635-y.
2021