Carolyn W. T. Lee-Parsons

Associate Professor
tel: 617.373.3634
ca.lee@neu.edu
Website

Biochemical Engineering, Metabolic Engineering

Education

Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering), Cornell University, 1995
M.S. (Chemical Engineering), Cornell University
B.S. (Chemical Engineering), University of Kansas

Research Interests

Production of pharmaceutical compounds from cell culture Plant cell and tissue culture Microalgae for the production of biofuel

My research is in biochemical engineering, specifically the area of metabolic engineering. Metabolic engineering embodies the principles, framework, and methodologies for understanding and manipulating the metabolic pathways in the cell for targeted and improved chemical transformations. My research group and I are applying metabolic engineering principles and methodologies to improve the production of important compounds from plants or plant cell cultures. Our research relies heavily on understanding the complex network of biosynthetic reactions within the cell and the application of tools in analytical chemistry for unveiling the secrets of the cell. The outcome of this research is an understanding of how to rationally direct the resources of the cell (i.e. precursor and energy fluxes) for significant enhancements in the production of the desired chemical compound. Our research is being applied to address:
Focus 1: the production of cost-prohibitive pharmaceutical compounds from cell cultures of plants.
Focus 2: the growing problem of antibiotic resistance using plant-derived compounds to inhibit bacterial defense mechanisms.
Focus 3: the efficient cultivation of plants with high nutritional quality for food, in environments with limited gas exchange such as those found on space stations
My main research focus is the production of valuable pharmaceutical compounds from plant cell cultures, specifically the production of important anti-cancer drug molecules from cell cultures of Catharanthus roseus. Plant cell culture is potentially a better route for supplying certain structurally complex drug molecules than chemical synthesis or extraction from whole plants. Moreover, plant cell culture can potentially produce these drug molecules at a faster and more consistent rate than whole plants. The overall vision of my research is to meet the needs and demands of important and cost-prohibitive plant-derived pharmaceuticals using plant cell culture, applying metabolic engineering strategies and ultimately developing an economically viable process using plant cell culture.

Selected Publications

“Improved Ajmalicine Production and Recovery from Catharanthus roseus Suspensions with Increased Product Removal Rates.” P.L. Wong, A. J. Royce, and C. W.T. Lee-Parsons, Biochemical Engineering Journal, 21(3), pp. 253-258 (2004).

“Enhancing Ajmalicine Production in Catharanthus roseus Cell Cultures with Methyl Jasmonate is Dependent on Timing and Dosage of Elicitation.” C. W.T. Lee-Parsons, S. Ertürk, and J. Tengtrakool, Biotechnology Letters, 26(20), pp. 1595-1599 (2004).

“The Effect of Ajmalicine Spiking and Resin Addition Timing on the Production of Indole Alkaloids from Catharanthus roseus Cell Cultures.” C. W.T. Lee-Parsons and M.L. Shuler, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 79(4), pp. 408-415 (2002).

“The Effect of Inoculum Density and Conditioned Medium on the Production of Ajmalicine and Catharanthine from Immobilized Catharanthus roseus Cells.” C. W.T. Lee and M.L. Shuler, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 67(1), pp. 61-71 (2000).

“Large-Scale Insect and Plant Cell Culture.” R.A. Taticek, C. W.T. Lee, and M.L. Shuler, Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 5, pp. 165-174 (1994). R.A. Taticek authored the insect cell culture review; C. W.T. Lee authored the plant cell culture review.