Clinical Focus


  • Clinical Neurophysiology
  • Neurophysiologic Intraoperative Monitoring

Academic Appointments


Honors & Awards


  • Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award, The Arnold P. Gold Foundation (2003 and 2004)
  • Elected to Gold Humanism Honor Society, The Arnold P. Gold Foundation (2004)
  • Fellow Teaching Award 2006, Neurology Resident Class of 2006 (2006)
  • A.B. Baker Teacher Recognition Award, American Academy of Neurology (2009)
  • Neurology Clerkship Teaching Award, Stanford University School of Medicine (2012-2013)

Professional Education


  • Board Certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Clinical Neurophysiology (2007)
  • Board Certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Neurology (2006)
  • Medical Education: University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine (2001) CA
  • Fellowship: University of Rochester (2006) NY
  • Residency: University of Rochester (2005) NY
  • Internship: University of Rochester (2002) NY
  • Board Certification: American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology, Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring (2010)
  • A.B., Harvard University (1997)

2023-24 Courses


All Publications


  • Detection of acute femoral artery ischemia during neuroembolization by somatosensory and motor evoked potential monitoring INTERVENTIONAL NEURORADIOLOGY Purger, D., Feroze, A. H., Choudhri, O., Lee, L., Lopez, J., Dodd, R. L. 2015; 21 (3): 397-400

    Abstract

    Neuromonitoring can be used to map out particular neuroanatomical tracts, define physiologic deficits secondary to specific pathology or intervention, or predict postoperative outcome and proves essential in the detection of central and peripheral ischemic events during neurosurgical intervention. Herein, we describe an instance of elective balloon-assisted coiling of a recurrent basilar tip aneurysm in a 61-year-old woman, where intraoperative somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and transcranial motor evoked potentials (TcMEPs) were lost in the right lower extremity intraoperatively. We aim to highlight that targeted use of monitoring proves advantageous in both the open surgical and endovascular setting, even in the avoidance of potential iatrogenic peripheral nerve damage and limb ischemia as documented herein. Consideration of the increased risk for peripheral ischemia in the neurointerventional setting is especially imperative in particular populations where blood vessels might be of diminished size, such as in infants, young children, and severely deconditioned adults.

    View details for DOI 10.1177/1591019915583219

    View details for Web of Science ID 000356305000019

    View details for PubMedID 26015519

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4757266

  • Detection of inferolateral trunk syndrome by neuromonitoring during catheter angiography with provocative testing. Journal of neurointerventional surgery Le, S., Dodd, R., López, J., Nguyen, V., Cho, S. C., Lee, L. 2013; 5 (2)

    Abstract

    It is not uncommon that endovascular balloon test occlusion (BTO) is performed to assess collateral blood flow and risk of injury of permanent occlusion of the internal carotid artery (ICA). This case is the first reported of detection and reversal of the inferolateral trunk (ILT) syndrome in an awake patient during provocative BTO; prompt recognition of the syndrome effectively prevented permanent neurologic deficits.The case of a 42-year-old woman is reported who had a left sphenoid wing meningioma with extension into the cavernous sinus and who underwent awake catheter angiography with provocative BTO of the ICA. Serial examinations by intraoperative monitoring neurologists and neurointerventionalists detected acute progressive left retro-orbital pressure followed by sudden inability to adduct the left eye, or a left medial rectus palsy, indicative of the ILT syndrome which led to immediate balloon deflation and resolution of the deficits. The hypothesis was that hypoperfusion of the ILT, an arterial branch of the ICA which provides blood supply to several cranial nerves (CN) III, CN V1 and CN V2, caused her acute symptoms.Although cerebral ischemia is a well known complication of endovascular procedures, CN ischemia is a rare potential risk. Knowledge of cerebrovascular anatomy and serial examinations prevented neurologic deficits; this case underscores the added utility of examinations by intraoperative monitoring neurologists and interdisciplinary collaboration.

    View details for DOI 10.1136/neurintsurg-2011-010236

    View details for PubMedID 22345146

  • Highlight and Commentary: Eliminating delay in rt-PA administration Neurology Lee, L. 2006; 67: 1533
  • Cerebellar volume of musicians CEREBRAL CORTEX Hutchinson, S., Lee, L. H., Gaab, N., Schlaug, G. 2003; 13 (9): 943-949

    Abstract

    There is evidence that the cerebellum is involved in motor learning and cognitive function in humans. Animal experiments have found structural changes in the cerebellum in response to long-term motor skill activity. We investigated whether professional keyboard players, who learn specialized motor skills early in life and practice them intensely throughout life, have larger cerebellar volumes than matched non-musicians by analyzing high-resolution T(1)-weighted MR images from a large prospectively acquired database (n = 120). Significantly greater absolute (P = 0.018) and relative (P = 0.006) cerebellar volume but not total brain volume was found in male musicians compared to male non-musicians. Lifelong intensity of practice correlated with relative cerebellar volume in the male musician group (r = 0.595, P = 0.001). In the female group, there was no significant difference noted in volume measurements between musicians and non-musicians. The significant main effect for gender on relative cerebellar volume (F = 10.41, P < 0.01), with females having a larger relative cerebellar volume, may mask the effect of musicianship in the female group. We propose that the significantly greater cerebellar volume in male musicians and the positive correlation between relative cerebellar volume and lifelong intensity of practice represents structural adaptation to long-term motor and cognitive functional demands in the human cerebellum.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000184680400006

    View details for PubMedID 12902393

  • Retinoic acid induces Gpx2 gene expression in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells JOURNAL OF NUTRITION Chu, F. F., Esworthy, R. S., Lee, L., Wilczynski, S. 1999; 129 (10): 1846-1854

    Abstract

    We showed previously that the selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase, GPX-GI, encoded by the Gpx2 gene, is highly expressed in the epithelium of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and sporadically in breast tissue. To investigate whether Gpx2 gene expression is epithelium specific, we used in situ hybridization to show that Gpx2 mRNA is highly expressed in the crypt epithelium of human intestine. We also used Northern analysis to study human breast cells and found Gpx2 mRNA in human mammary epithelial cell lines as well as freshly isolated normal breast epithelial cells. Because we identified three putative retinoic acid response elements (RARE) in the Gpx2 gene, we examined the regulation of the Gpx2 gene expression by all-trans retinoic acid (RA) in RA-sensitive MCF-7 cells and RA-resistant HT29 cells. Without RA, MCF-7 cells had very low levels of Gpx2 mRNA and a low level of glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity (17 mU/mg protein), whereas HT29 cells had a high level of Gpx2 mRNA and GPX activity (200 mU/mg protein). RA treatment increased Gpx2 mRNA level 3- to 11-fold and resulted in a fourfold increase of GPX activity (80 mU/mg protein) in MCF-7 cells. Neither Gpx2 mRNA level nor GPX activity was increased in HT29 cells. These results show that the Gpx2 gene is expressed in both breast and intestinal epithelium cells, and suggest that its expression can be highly regulated by retinoic acid, a known differentiation agent.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000083019700014

    View details for PubMedID 10498757