Raphael C. Lee, MD, ScD, DSc

2016 Senior Faculty Scholars

Dr. Raphael C. Lee is the Paul and Allene Russell Professor at the University of Chicago in Surgery (Plastic), Medicine (Dermatology), Translational Medicine and Organismal Biology & Anatomy (Biomechanics). He is a Fellow of the Institute for Molecular Engineering also a cofounder the Chicago Electrical Trauma Rehabilitation Institute. Dr. Lee completed general surgery residency at the University of Chicago and plastic surgery residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He has served on the faculty of Harvard University and M.I.T. Dr. Lee’s research is recognized for characterization of the molecular biophysics of tissue damage by electrical forces, ionizing irradiation and thermal trauma. His laboratory has developed synthetic chaperones to recover denatured and aggregated proteins, which have important implications in tissue preservation and thermal trauma. Dr. Lee was the first to describe obturator sensate fasciocutaneous flaps for congenital and acquired perineal deformities. Dr. Lee has been a Schering Scholar, MacArthur Prize Fellow, and a Searle Scholar. Notable awards include the James Barrett Brown Award for “advancing knowledge in the field of Plastic Surgery” and the American Electrical Power Association Award for “Advancing Electrical Safety and Health”.