Chuan-pu Lee, MD, Wayne State University School of Medicine distinguished professor of biochemistry and neurology, has been selected by the Michigan Women’s Studies Association Inc. as a 2000 recipient of the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame Life Achievement Award.

Dr. Lee is internationally respected for her work in bioenergetics, the study of how energy is produced and conserved in living cells. In particular, she has studied the metabolism of mitochondrion, a substance found in the cytoplasm of cells that is a major source of cellular energy. Her work has led to explanations of how energy-producing reactions are related to diseases such as Reye’s syndrome, Luft’s disease, Kearn Sayre syndrome and other neuromuscular diseases.

Born in Tsingtao, China, in 1931, Dr. Lee graduated in 1954 with a degree in chemistry from National Taiwan University in Taipei. She obtained her PhD in biochemistry at Oregon State University before serving as a post-doctoral fellow at OSU and the University of Pennsylvania. She went on to study physiological chemistry as a research fellow at the University of Stockholm.

Dr. Lee joined Wayne State University School of Medicine as a professor of biochemistry in 1975 after serving as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1983, she was named a professor of neurology.

In addition to her research and teaching, Dr. Lee has served on the editorial boards of two international journals, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta and BBA Review on Bioenergetics, and has served as editor of Current Topics in Bioenergetics. She has edited several books, organized international symposia and published nearly 200 scientific papers, abstracts and chapters.

Dr. Lee has received numerous honors, including an honorary doctorate of philosophy from the University of Stockholm, the WSU Board of Governors Faculty Recognition Award and the Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award.