Esak (Isaac) Lee
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isaacleelab.bsky.social
Esak (Isaac) Lee
@isaacleelab.bsky.social
21 followers 30 following 10 posts
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University

*Research Interests: Tissue engineering, organ-on-chip, lymphatics, cancer, neurological disease (eye and brain)
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isaacleelab.bsky.social
Excited to attend the ISER/BrightFocus Glaucoma Symposium 2025 next week! Looking forward to connecting with glaucoma physicians & scientists and sharing our glaucoma-on-a-chip system with the community. #Glaucoma @brightfocus.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
iserbrightfocusglaucoma.org
October 1, 2025 at 4:13 PM
isaacleelab.bsky.social
Thank you, Cornell University, for featuring our pancreatic cancer work!
molecular-cancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

news.cornell.edu/stories/2025...
Key driver of pancreatic cancer spread identified | Cornell Chronicle
A new study revealed how a deadly form of pancreatic cancer enters the bloodstream, solving a long-standing mystery of how the disease spreads and identifying a promising target for therapy.
news.cornell.edu
September 24, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Reposted by Esak (Isaac) Lee
sciencex.bsky.social
A key receptor, ALK7, has been identified as enabling pancreatic cancer cells to enter the bloodstream, offering a potential new target for therapies to limit metastasis. doi.org/g94n5w
Key driver of pancreatic cancer spread identified
A Cornell-led study has revealed how a deadly form of pancreatic cancer enters the bloodstream, solving a long-standing mystery of how the disease spreads and identifying a promising target for therapy.
medicalxpress.com
September 24, 2025 at 4:24 PM
isaacleelab.bsky.social
Excited to be participating in the National Academy of Engineering Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering 2025 U.S. Symposium at the University of Pennsylvania next week! Honored to join 73 incredible early-career engineers shaping the future!
www.nae.edu/339372/Innov...
Innovative Early-Career Engineers Selected to Participate in The Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering 2025 Symposium of the National Academy of Engineering
Seventy-four early-career engineers have been selected to participate in the 2025 The Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering Symposium.
www.nae.edu
September 13, 2025 at 4:15 PM
isaacleelab.bsky.social
My new post on pancreatic cancer metastasis-on-a-chip in Nature Springer Community.
molecular-cancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
communities.springernature.com/posts/cracki...
Cracking the Code of Pancreatic Cancer Spread: A New Role for ALK7
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is among the deadliest cancers, and its rapid spread depends on tumor cells breaching blood vessels through a process called intravasation.
communities.springernature.com
September 13, 2025 at 12:47 PM
isaacleelab.bsky.social
Metastasis in pancreatic cancer requires tumor cells to cross blood vessel barriers. We found that ALK7 drives this process in two ways: by making cancer cells more mobile and by increasing enzymes that break down surrounding vessel walls.
molecular-cancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Non-canonical ALK7 pathways promote pancreatic cancer metastasis through β-catenin/MMP-mediated basement membrane breakdown and intravasation - Molecular Cancer
Breaching the vascular barrier is a critical step in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) metastasis, yet the mechanisms enabling this process remain incompletely understood. Transforming growth fa...
molecular-cancer.biomedcentral.com
September 12, 2025 at 8:40 PM
isaacleelab.bsky.social
Thanks National Eye Institute (NEI), NIH for featuring our paper on glaucoma-on-chip @natcardiovascres.nature.com (@natureportfolio.nature.com)! We are thrilled to enhance models for ocular fluid drainage and advance glaucoma research!
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nei.nih.gov/about/news-a....
‘Eye-on-a-chip’ reveals trigger for steroid-induced glaucoma | National Eye Institute
Research funded by the National Eye Institute has identified the signaling mechanism that triggers steroid-induced glaucoma by creating a 3D “eye-on-a-chip” platform that mimics the flow of ocular flu...
www.nei.nih.gov
September 7, 2025 at 6:06 AM
isaacleelab.bsky.social
My new post on human eye lymphatics-on-a-chip in Nature Springer Community.
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
communities.springernature.com/posts/eye-ly...
Eye lymphatics-on-a-chip
"Human eye lymphatics-on-a-chip” microphysiological system to understand glaucoma mechanisms.
communities.springernature.com
September 1, 2025 at 3:54 AM
isaacleelab.bsky.social
Grateful to Dr. Susan Quaggin and team for their thoughtful News & Views on our recently published glaucoma chip paper. Honored to see our work highlighted in the context of advancing ocular fluid drainage and glaucoma research. 🙏👁️
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Glaucoma discovery on a chip - Nature Cardiovascular Research
Increased intraocular pressure due to decreased outflow of aqueous humor from the anterior chamber of the eye is a major risk factor for the development of glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness. A ne...
www.nature.com
August 29, 2025 at 8:13 PM
isaacleelab.bsky.social
Excited to share our latest @natcardiovascres.nature.com on an "Eye lymphatics-on-chip” to understand glaucoma, a major cause of blindness! www.nature.com/articles/s44...
@cornellengineering.bsky.social
Free access article: rdcu.be/eCFRM
@cornellupress.bsky.social: news.cornell.edu/stories/2025...
Human ocular fluid outflow on-chip reveals trabecular meshwork-mediated Schlemm’s canal endothelial dysfunction in steroid-induced glaucoma - Nature Cardiovascular Research
Lu et al. created a human ocular outflow on-chip, composed of 3D Schlemm’s canal endothelium surrounded by trabecular meshwork and draining interstitial fluid, revealing ALK5/VEGFC signaling as a ther...
www.nature.com
August 27, 2025 at 4:51 PM