Dr. Vivian S. Lee of NYU Langone Medical Center has received the Asian Pacific Fund's 2009 Chang-Lin Tien Education Leadership Award, which honors the legacy of the first Asian American to head a major American research university. As one of two recipients of this prestigious award, Dr. Lee will receive a $10,000 unrestricted grant in recognition of her exceptional record of accomplishments in higher education.
"I am deeply honored to receive this award from the Asian Pacific Fund and feel privileged to be able to play a role in the leadership of an organization as outstanding and supportive as New York University," said Dr. Lee, vice dean for science and chief scientific officer & senior vice president at NYU Langone Medical Center. "This honor in memory of Chang-Lin Tien has special significance for me. Chancellor Tien's dedication to the advancement of education for all, his irrepressible spirit and strong commitment to positive change have been an inspiration to many, especially to my family and me."
"Dr. Lee is a transformational leader who, as senior vice-president, chief scientific officer and our first vice dean for science, is galvanizing research across our institution," said Dean and CEO Robert I. Grossman, M.D., "She also brings a deep commitment to mentoring and helping aspiring scientists-from medical students to faculty members- reach their full potential."
Dr. Vivian S. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A.
Vivian S. Lee, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., is the inaugural vice dean for science, senior vice-president and chief scientific officer of NYU Langone Medical Center. She is also a professor in the Department of Radiology and professor of physiology and neuroscience. A practicing MRI radiologist, Dr. Lee is currently principal investigator for three NIH R01 grants and is now chair of the Medical Imaging NIH study section, which is responsible for reviewing research proposals to the NIH that will develop and apply imaging technologies to improving human health. She is a fellow and current president of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), the preeminent professional association in the field, with a membership of over 6000 physicians, physicists, engineers, chemists, and technologists. She is both the first woman and first Asian to hold this position. In 2006, Dr. Lee became a Fellow of the Society.
Dr. Lee's research focuses on the development of quantitative functional MRI for the improved understanding of physiology and disease. She has developed and applied novel methodologies for the noninvasive diagnosis and monitoring of kidney function in patients with diseases ranging from hypertension to failed kidney transplants. Her recent work has focused on the development of new MRI vasculature-imaging techniques that do not require contrast material. As an editorial board member of several leading journals in imaging (Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography), Dr. Lee has authored over 100 peer-reviewed research publications, and a recent textbook, Cardiovascular MRI: Physical Principles to Practical Protocols.
At NYU, Dr. Lee oversees over 365 full-time research faculty and a portfolio of close to $200 million in research grants and contracts. Her office oversees the Institutional Review Board, Sponsored Programs Administration, Office of Clinical Trials, Office of Industrial Liaison, Department of Laboratory and Animal Research, IACUC, Research Information Management, Institutional Biosafety Committee, and jointly runs Research IT and Research Compliance. In 2008, Dr. Lee established the institution's first six Centers of Excellence—sweeping, multidisciplinary initiatives that assemble some 260 distinguished scientists into collaborative hubs to accelerate discovery and advance care for some of society's most pressing health problems (such as addiction, brain aging and dementia, and cancers of the skin, multiple sclerosis, musculoskeletal disease, urologic disease.)
In strategic planning for the Medical Center, Dr. Lee is particularly committed to medical research that addresses diversity—exploring the genetic and environmental differences across populations and their impact on patient-specific diagnostics and therapeutics. To this end, she is establishing an institutional biorepository to allow for genomic and proteomic research specifically applicable to the patient populations reflected in New York City's urban population. Also, under her leadership, transformative new technologies and shared resources are being brought to NYU Langone, including the development of a new High-Throughput Sequencing Core Facility, a new Center for Bioinformatics and Health Informatics, and a new Biostatistical Consulting Center.
An award-winning teacher, Dr. Lee is piloting initiatives that provide dedicated research time for clinical trainees and expanding programs to provide clinical experiences for basic scientists in training. Dr. Lee has also taken institution-wide the types of initiatives that proved so successful during her five-year tenure as vice-chair for research for the Department of Radiology, where she helped create a research administration and infrastructure that supports research productivity and external funding success. Under her watch, NYU Radiology, unranked in research funding a decade ago, rose to a top-tier department in NIH research funding, with an active corps of clinical researchers, 20 dedicated research scientists and over 60 full-time research personnel.
A graduate of Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges, Dr. Lee was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University, where she received a doctorate in medical engineering. Returning to Harvard Medical School, she earned her M.D. with honors. She completed her residency in Diagnostic Radiology at Duke, where she also served as chief resident and trained as a fellow in Body and Cardiovascular MRI and Thoracic Imaging at NYU. A member of Alpha Omega Alpha, she received NYU's Orloff Award in 2001 for research. Dr. Lee completed an M.B.A. at NYU's Stern School of Business in 2006 and was among Crain's New York Business magazine's "40 under 40: New York's Rising Stars."
About the Chang-Lin Tien Education Leadership Awards
These awards recognize the accomplishments of rising Asian American leaders in higher education to support their professional development and advancement. Created by the Asian Pacific Fund in 2006, the Awards recognize Asian American academic leaders whose work embraces the ideals of Tien, who served as chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, from 1990 to 1997 and was a founding member of the Asian Pacific fund's board of Directors. The Awards are supported by the many individuals impressed by Chancellor Tien's unique contributions as an acclaimed teacher, scientist and administrator.
This year's Asian Pacific Fund Board of Directors Selection Committee included Bobby Fong, president of Butler College; Horace Mitchell, president of California State University Bakersfield; Steve Kang, chancellor of University of California, Merced, and a 2007 Tien Award recipient; Leslie Tang Schilling, University of California regent; Bob Suzuki, past president of California State Polytechnic University; and Henry Yang, chancellor of University of California, Santa Barbara.
About the Asian Pacific Fund
The Asian Pacific Fund is a Bay Area foundation established to improve the health and well-being of the Asian American community. By awarding grants and providing services to more than 90 Asian organizations, the Fund also supports a broad range of local groups that provide vital services to Asian Americans in need. These organizations serve Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Thai, Vietnamese and other Asians in the region. The Fund is the only organization in the Bay Area that specializes in working with Asian donors, raising funds for community agencies, helping donors start scholarship programs and supporting public education projects. For more information: www.asianpacificfund.org.
About NYU Langone Medical Center
Located in the heart of New York City, NYU Langone Medical Center is a premier center for health care, biomedical research, and medical education. For over 167 years, NYU physicians and researchers have contributed to the practice and science of medicine. Today the Medical Center consists of NYU School of Medicine; Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, the first and largest facility of its kind; NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, a leader in musculoskeletal care; and such nationally recognized programs as the NYU Cancer Institute, the NYU Child Study Center, and the NYU Cardiac and Vascular Institute.