The Biology of Cancer

Ryan S. Lee is the Director of Science Instruction and the Premedical Program at Harvard Extension School (HES). He is involved in both faculty development, working with science instructors at HES to innovate in their courses, and in student program administration, advising post-baccalaureate students intending on a future career in the health professions. His vision for HES's premedical students is a combination of strong didactic science courses with plentiful opportunities for professional competency development and community building. Additionally, he teaches cell biology and cancer biology to first-year medical students in the Pathways program at Harvard Medical School (HMS). Previously, he was a founding assistant professor at the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine (KPSOM). There, he was involved in shaping all aspects of the school—from developing the school's curriculum from scratch, as the unit director for hematology, immunology, and oncology; to teaching medical students preclinical classes weekly; to guiding the broader strategic development of institutional policies through service on multiple committees and workgroups, including as co-chair of the Technology Steering Committee and chair of the Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Advisory Committee. Lee earned his PhD from Harvard in the biological and biomedical sciences program while working at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in the lab of Charles Roberts, and he was formerly the Curriculum Fellow for the Harvard Landry Cancer Biology Consortium.