Graduate students are a very valuable part of Dr. Lee's active research program. Dr. Lee has trained over twenty graduate students to date (including five Residents from the Department of Surgery) and usually has between 3-5 graduate students in his laboratory pursuing graduate degrees. There are opportunities for graduate work in Dr. Lee's lab through the graduate programs in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology and the Department of Pathology. There are also opportunities to work with other members of the Transplantation Centre. Dr. Lee can serve as a contact person for these other opportunities.

All of Dr. Lee's students have completed their degrees in a timely fashion and have gone on to successful careers. Because of Dr. Lee's close association with the Medical School and clinical colleagues, many of Dr. Lee's students have gone on to complete medical degrees. These students usually go on to complete specialty training and retain an interest in research. Currently Dr. Lee is collaborating with three of his past students who are now clinical specialists and valuable research colleagues.

The Program

Graduate work in Dr. Lee's laboratory primarily entails bench research with a resulting thesis. Publication of the thesis work is expected but is not essential for completion of the degree. Research is performed in a supportive environment with technical staff and other graduate students assisting where necessary, especially in the first 3-6 months of training. Graduate students meet with Dr. Lee for one hour per week to discuss their recent results, any problems and planned experimentation. Every student has a supervisory committee chosen jointly by the student and Dr. Lee. This committee meets with the student twice a year to provide support and guidance with the project. The supervisory committee works with the supervisor and the student to define required coursework. In general terms Dr. Lee likes to keep coursework to a minimum so that his students can concentrate on their research and publications. Students present their work annually in the departmental seminar series. Dr. Lee works with his students to ensure that this is a professional and pleasurable experience.

In general, a M.Sc. degree will take 2 years, and a Ph.D. between 4-5 years, in Dr. Lee's laboratory. In most cases, students write their research up for publication during their graduate program and take the first authorship position on the resulting publications. All students are paid a student stipend while in the Graduate Program and, in some cases, are provided with tuition relief from the sponsoring Department. Pathology graduate students are eligible for one paid trip a year to a research conference if they are presenting work (in 2009, the trip was to Paris!).

Projects

The two main areas of research are transplantation and immune modulation for the treatment of cancer and infectious disease. In both cases the emphasis is on translational research that can be easily related to specific disease states and can be used directly for the development of novel therapeutic modalities. For this reason much of the research ongoing in Dr. Lee's laboratory is attractive to students who eventually wish to enter medical school or work either directly, or in a collaborative manner, with industry. A more complete description of the projects in the laboratory can be found in the research projects section of this web site.

Requirements

The minimum requirement for acceptance into Dalhousie University Graduate Studies is a 3.0 GPA over four years. Depending on which Graduate Program students apply to, other program specific requirements may apply. For example, in Microbiology and Immunology, students are expected to have at least a B+ average over the four years, although an A- average is preferred. The Pathology program is more flexible in this regard but students with less than a B+ average are expected to have other relevant experience. In both programs students would be expected to have some background in Immunology and either Biochemistry or Pathology.

Application Details

There are three entry points into the Graduate Program at Dalhousie University. They are: January 1st, May 1st and September 1st. Students must put their application in at least two months before those deadlines. In practical terms, students must approach Dr. Lee at least six months before they wish to enter the graduate program to allow time for consideration and explore possibilities for funding of the student stipend.
More information about application details can be found on the home sites of the Department of Microbiology & Immunology or Pathology. The Graduate Co-ordinator for Microbiology & Immunology is Dr. Roy Duncan (Roy.Duncan@dal.ca) and for Pathology is Dr. Wenda Greer (Wenda.Greer@cdha.nshealth.ca).

Medical Sciences Graduate Program

Residents who are registered in a Royal College of Canada Residency program can enter the lab as graduate students through the Graduate Program in Medical Sciences. The Medical Sciences Program is restricted to Residents in Royal College programs.