About

Pamela Lee is a professor in the Department of the History of Art at Yale University, where she teaches the history, theory, and criticism of late modernism and contemporary art. Her research interests include the relationship between aesthetics, politics, war, time, technology, and systems. She has taught at Stanford University from 1997 to 2018, holding the Osgood Hooker Professorship in Fine Arts. Lee has authored six single-authored books, including 'Object to be Destroyed: The Work of Gordon Matta-Clark,' 'Chronophobia: On Time in the Art of the 1960s,' 'Forgetting the Art World,' and her most recent book, 'Think Tank Aesthetics: Midcentury Modernism, The Cold War and the Neoliberal Present.' Her current research explores the concept of “small war” as elaborated by theorists of the Napoleonic Wars, examining its expression outside martial spectacle through the work of artists from the 19th century to the present, including Goya, Trumbull, Copley, and contemporary artists such as An-My Lê, Kevin Beasley, Betye Saar, The Propeller Group, and Lucy Raven. Her work also investigates the relationship between art, guns, interchangeability, race, and gender. Lee is on the editorial board of OCTOBER, which she joined in 2018.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Biology
• Genetics
• Cell biology
• Cancer research
• Virology
• Gerontology
• Immunology

Selected publications

• Hyaluronan Ameliorates Viral Pneumonia in Mice and Humans by Inhibiting Transcription Factor E2F1

  American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology · 2025-07-28 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Viral lung infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite significant advances in vaccines and antivirals, there remains a tremendous need for broadly applicable treatments that can be utilized across viral infections. Before infecting epithelial cells, viruses interact with the epithelial glycocalyx, which contains high-molecular weight hyaluronan (HMWHA), a glycosaminoglycan that has beneficial effects in lung injury. In this study, we sought to determine the role of HMWHA in viral pneumonia. We infected mice with influenza or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and treated them with prophylactic or therapeutic doses of HMWHA or saline control. We performed in vitro experiments of infection with viruses of respiratory and nonrespiratory human and animal cells and evaluated the effect of HMWHA on infection. We analyzed existing databases for expression of hyaluronan and the transcription factor E2F1. Finally, we performed a clinical trial with HMWHA in patients with severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Exogenously applied HMWHA improved survival in SARS-CoV-2 and influenza infection in mice by ameliorating inflammation through the inhibition of E2F1. In a clinical study, inhaled HMWHA improved outcomes in patients with severe COVID-19. Furthermore, airway epithelia naturally express HMWHA, which is induced during viral infection and prevents infection through the macromolecular crowding of viruses. Our data provide a mechanistic justification for the use of HMWHA as a broadly effective prophylactic and therapeutic agent in viral airway infection.

  PublisherDOI

• Proximal Pulmonary Artery Stiffening as a Biomarker of Cardiopulmonary Aging

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-06-15

  preprintOpen access

  The geroscience hypothesis suggests that understanding underlying ageing mechanisms will enable us to delay aging and lessen age-related disability and diseases. While hallmarks of ageing list multiple contributing factors, role of mechanics has only been recently recognized and increasingly appreciated. Here, we use mouse models of ageing to investigate changes in mechanics of the proximal pulmonary artery, lung and right ventricle function in ageing. We found an age-related decline in the capacity to store energy and increased circumferential stiffness of the proximal pulmonary artery with age that associated with a reorientation of collagen towards the circumferential direction, decreased exercise ability, and decreased function of the lung and right ventricle. The observed compromised mechanics in proximal pulmonary artery is consistent across multiple mouse models of accelerated ageing. Further, transcriptional changes in proximal pulmonary artery indicate that aging is associated with senescence of perivascular macrophages, adventitial fibroblasts, and medial smooth muscle cells. Older pulmonary arteries increase expression of genes associated with ECM turnover (including genes in the TGFβ pathway) and increased intercellular signaling amongst perivascular macrophages, fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells. Our results provide promising biomarkers of ageing for diagnosis and potential pathways and molecular targets for targeting anti-ageing therapies.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Impact of different tissue dissociation protocols on endothelial cell recovery from developing mouse lungs

  Cytometry Part A · 2024-04-26 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Flow cytometry and fluorescence-activated cell sorting are widely used to study endothelial cells, for which the generation of viable single-cell suspensions is an essential first step. Two enzymatic approaches, collagenase A and dispase, are widely employed for endothelial cell isolation. In this study, the utility of both enzymatic approaches, alone and in combination, for endothelial cell isolation from juvenile and adult mouse lungs was assessed, considering the number, viability, and subtype composition of recovered endothelial cell pools. Collagenase A yielded an 8-12-fold superior recovery of viable endothelial cells from lung tissue from developing mouse pups, compared to dispase, although dispase proved superior in efficiency for epithelial cell recovery. Single-cell RNA-Seq revealed that the collagenase A approach yielded a diverse endothelial cell subtype composition of recovered endothelial cell pools, with broad representation of arterial, capillary, venous, and lymphatic lung endothelial cells; while the dispase approach yielded a recovered endothelial cell pool highly enriched for one subset of general capillary endothelial cells, but poor representation of other endothelial cells subtypes. These data indicate that tissue dissociation markedly influences the recovery of endothelial cells, and the endothelial subtype composition of recovered endothelial cell pools, as assessed by single-cell RNA-Seq.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Sinai SCENT TMC - Peripheral Blood Collection v1

  2024-02-02

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  This Standard Operating Procedure is to provide guidance toresearch team members who are involved in the retrieval, processing, and storing of peripheral blood samples obtained from research participants. The research team shall use this SOP within the scope of an IRB-approved protocol.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Author response for "Impact of different tissue dissociation protocols on endothelial cell recovery from developing mouse lungs"

  2024-03-11

  peer-review
  PublisherDOI

• Sinai SCENT TMC - Peripheral Blood Collection v2

  2024-02-02

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  This Standard Operating Procedure is to provide guidance toresearch team members who are involved in the retrieval, processing, and storing of peripheral blood samples obtained from research participants. The research team shall use this SOP within the scope of an IRB-approved protocol.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Acoustofluidic Virus Isolation via Bessel Beam Excitation Separation Technology

  ACS Nano · 2024-08-12 · 29 citations

  articleOpen access

  The isolation of viruses from complex biological samples is essential for creating sensitive bioassays that assess the efficacy and safety of viral therapeutics and vaccines, which have played a critical role during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, existing methods of viral isolation are time-consuming and labor-intensive due to the multiple processing steps required, resulting in low yields. Here, we introduce the rapid, efficient, and high-resolution acoustofluidic isolation of viruses from complex biological samples via Bessel beam excitation separation technology (BEST). BEST isolates viruses by utilizing the nondiffractive and self-healing properties of 2D, in-plane acoustic Bessel beams to continuously separate cell-free viruses from biofluids, with high throughput and high viral RNA yield. By tuning the acoustic parameters, the cutoff size of isolated viruses can be easily adjusted to perform dynamic, size-selective virus isolation while simultaneously trapping larger particles and separating smaller particles and contaminants from the sample, achieving high-precision isolation of the target virus. BEST was used to isolate severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from human saliva samples and Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus from cell culture media, demonstrating its potential use in both practical diagnostic applications and fundamental virology research. With high separation resolution, high yield, and high purity, BEST is a powerful tool for rapidly and efficiently isolating viruses. It has the potential to play an important role in the development of next-generation viral diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Alveolar Type 2 Cells With Impaired Proteostasis Signal to Monocyte-derived Macrophages Via a MIF/DDT-CD74 Signaling Network to Promotes Pulmonary Fibrosis in IPF

  2024-04-30

  article
  PublisherDOI

• SAT565 Is Firefighting An Occupational Risk For Papillary Thyroid Cancer? A Case Report

  Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2023-10-01

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Disclosure: S.A. Diamond-Rossi: None. P. Lee: None. C. Thomas: None. R. Stanislawski: None. J. Kim: None. Background: Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most prevalent histologic type of thyroid cancer. The toxic exposures associated with firefighting from both protective gear and combustion products have brought to question whether this population is at an increased risk of developing certain malignancies, including thyroid cancer. The objective of this case report is to raise awareness of the possible association between firefighting and thyroid cancer. Case Presentation: A 46-year-old asymptomatic male career firefighter presented to our clinic following a mobile screening thyroid ultrasound which revealed bilateral suspicious nodules. FNAs of a 1.0 cm right nodule and 1.2 cm left nodule were consistent with papillary thyroid cancer. Lymph node mapping revealed bilateral suspicious lymph nodes in levels 3 and 4 with FNAs confirming metastatic PTC. He underwent total thyroidectomy with bilateral central and lateral lymph node dissections confirming multifocal disease, which included numerous submillimeter foci of PTC. 21 of 68 lymph nodes had metastatic disease. He is now scheduled for adjuvant radioactive iodine therapy. Discussion: Compared to the general population, firefighters have a higher incidence of thyroid cancer. In 2022, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced that occupational exposure as a firefighter would be considered a Group 1 carcinogen, designating this exposure as having sufficient evidence for carcinogenicity in humans. In recognition of this risk, our local fire department, the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue, has implemented a cancer screening protocol offered to firefighters which includes a mobile thyroid ultrasound. Our patient had extensive disease with bilateral lymph node involvement requiring radioactive iodine after surgical resection. Without a screening ultrasound, it can be presumed that our patient would have presented later and perhaps with even more advanced disease. Firefighters are exposed to carcinogens and possible endocrine disrupting chemicals as part of their work, either via their protective equipment or products of the fire itself. More research is needed to determine if the higher incidence of thyroid cancer can be attributed to this occupational exposure versus surveillance bias due to increased screening of this population in recent years. Presentation: Saturday, June 17, 2023

  PublisherDOI

• Atypical new metastatic sites after immunotherapy in patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M H&NSCC).

  Journal of Clinical Oncology · 2023-06-01

  article

  e18032 Background: Immunotherapy with PD-1 inhibitors (PD-1Is) nivolumab (N) or pembrolizumab (P) has led to significant improvements in overall survival in pts with R/M H&NSCC. Common metastatic (met) sites for R/M H&NSCC are locoregional in the H&N area (LR), lung (L) and liver (LV). We investigated where patients developed met sites after successful treatment with PD-1Is. Methods: Eligible pts were treated with N or P for at least 3 months in the 1 st or 2 nd line setting and with at least stable disease as best response. Records were reviewed for initial sites of disease and whether metastatic sites developed after PD-1 therapies, including during subsequent lines of therapy. Patients could have more than one initial or progressive metastatic/recurrent sites of disease. Results: 26 eligible pts treated between 2016-2022 were identified with demographics as follows: 20 males/6 females; average age 65.3 yrs; primary diseases were 13 oropharynx (12 HPV+), 10 oral cavity, 1 larynx, and 2 nasopharynx; 8 received N and 18 got P (4 with chemotherapy); 22 were treated in 1 st line and 4 in 2 nd line. The median time on PD-1I therapy was 51.7 weeks (range 19 – 100). Best response was stable disease in 9 (35%), partial response in 15 (58%), and complete response in 2 (8%). Initial sites of disease were: LR 16 (62%), L 16 (62%), LV 2 (8%) and bone 2 (8%). In the 16 pts who developed new sites of disease, these included L in 5 (31%), LV in 4 (25%), bone in 7 (44%), abdomen/mesentery in 7 (44%), lower extremities in 4 (25%), and brain in 3 (19%). All 3 who developed CNS mets had HPV+ oropharynx cancer. Conclusions: Pts successfully treated with PD-1Is had uncommon sites of new metastatic disease, including in the lower extremities, abdomen, and brain. This has important ramifications for restaging scan requirements in these patients while on treatment. These results also raise the possibility of disease site sanctuaries resistant to immunotherapy, including in the abdomen, bone, and brain. Larger patient series should be investigated.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R01HL071595

  NIH · $3.4M · 2014

• MIF-mediated Mechanisms in Emphysema

  NIH · 2017–2022

• NIH Grant R01HL090660

  NIH · $1.7M · 2014

• TLR4-MEDIATED EPIGENETIC AND SENESCENCE MECHANISMS IN EMPHYSEMA

  NIH · $1.5M · 2017–2022

• NIH Grant R56HL126519

  NIH · $403k · 2016

Frequent coauthors

• Xuchen Zhang

  Yale University

  42 shared

• Peiying Shan

  Yale University

  38 shared

• Augustine M.K. Choi

  Cornell University

  32 shared

• J. Gershon Spector

  Providence College

  31 shared

• Albert Derby

  University of New Mexico

  30 shared

• Dikla G. Roufa

  Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences

  29 shared

• Praveen Mannam

  25 shared

• Maor Sauler

  Yale University

  24 shared

Awards & honors

• The Whitney Independent Study Program