Jean Kyung Lee, MD, PhD

Jean Kyung Lee, MD, PhD, joined Northwell Health in 2019 as a specialist in medical oncology and internal medicine, with a focus on gynecologic cancers. She's also an assistant professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Her original career plan was to focus on infectious disease since she had an interest in immunology; she earned a doctorate in human immunology from Oxford University. But after graduating from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Lee did a residency at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and had several interactions with oncology patients during her clinical training. She fell in love with the field and did a fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. "What struck me most was that this is a specialty where you build long-term relationships with patients, and you can truly make a difference," she says. "It's one of the most vulnerable times in patients' lives, and I felt I could make a positive contribution at a difficult time." Also, the specialty paired well with her lifelong interest in immunology since oncology has increasingly been employing immunotherapy for treatment. This type of approach relies on engaging a patient's own immune system to fight cancer. Dr. Lee feels she gets to see the best of both specialties, while also providing compassionate, empathetic cancer care. She chose Northwell Health in part because she grew up on Long Island and wanted to come home to her community, but also because Northwell's growth and emphasis on collaboration and innovation put it at the forefront of oncology, she believes. Northwell also gives her an opportunity to pursue clinical research in immunotherapy and she serves as principal investigator or co-investigator on several clinical trials, as well as a researcher on peer-reviewed studies. "Northwell is truly a leader in the region," says Dr. Lee. "That means there are ample resources for delivering comprehensive care, and especially treatment plans that are tailored to each patient's needs and goals. The ability to take evidence-based research and direct it toward bringing better therapies to patients is very exciting and promising."