Dedicated to excellence in research, teaching, mentoring, and community service
We are driven and passionate about studying the physiology and genetics of resilience.
Associate Professor, Molecular Biology and Applied Genetics
Director, Human Performance Laboratory
Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut
Message from Principal Investigator (PI): Dr. Elaine Choung-Hee Lee
My lab’s research focuses on understanding mechanisms of stress resiliency and ways to improve stress resistance, adaptation, and healthspan.
We are unique in our multidisciplinary expertise and approach to asking questions not just about how biology works, but also what we can do to manipulate it in a way that results in functional change for broader populations.
We are comparative physiologists, taking advantage of tractable animal models like Caenorhabditis elegans to design powerful experiments that help us understand human biology. We take the information we learn from easily manipulated animal models to design human experiments intelligently and strategically.
We specialize in using powerful genomic technologies to ask questions about what makes elite athletes elite and what makes training programs and supplements effective in a personalized medicine approach.
My passion comes from my innate curiosity for, well, everything. My research focus grew from my own experiences as a runner and NCAA Division I rower and coach and my early experiences in Genetics and Nutritional Sciences. I love my job and wake up excited every day to do good science, write and share that science, and teach it to my students and mentees. I have been lucky enough to surround myself with an incredible team of students who I hope far surpass my own success in their careers and pursuits. In my work, I have been able to create a dream team of passionate, driven, motivated, and inspired people who all work together for the ultimate goal of understanding what makes our real-life heroes so special and how we can enhance and extend that through intelligent training and science. Join us, collaborate with us, or just visit with us.
Real-life heroes.
Elite athletes and military warfighters are our real-life super heroes. In my obsession with Marvel comics heroes, I came to the realization that we can make a career out of working together to study what makes our heroes physiologically and genetically so special, and what we can do to tap into that inner physical hero in every individual to optimize health and prevent disease.
Smart science.
We use a fast, inexpensive, powerful, and genetically conserved (similar to human genome) animal model called Caenorhabditis elegans to turn powerful mechanistic understanding about how stress physiology works to strategically design human studies. In this way we can quickly identify not only how humans can become more adaptable to stress, but what strategies can work to enhance that resilience.
Big impact.
Research for the sake of satisfying individual curiosity is not our approach. We study science using pioneering technology and innovative approaches with practical application in mind. If the technology is not appropriate, we don’t use it. If 1970s physiology experiments get us to a product that helps people recover more quickly from stress and prevent injury or disease, that’s what we’ll use. We research to impact.
Great minds working together.
Our lab is a place where we are collaborators and our students and research trainees are not just learning, but developing as leaders and project managers. Mentoring and lifelong networking and collaboration are fundamental to our mission and success. We excel and hope that every new generation is more successful than the last as we continue to develop and grow as mentors and leaders.