Andrew Lee's gene therapy journey in Shenzhen
For American physician-scientist Andrew Lee, research is ultimately about one question: how can an innovation in the laboratory make a real difference to patients?
对于美籍医师科学家Andrew Lee而言，科研最终都指向同一个问题：实验室里的创新，如何真正改善患者的生活？
One of the main focuses of Lee’s laboratory is Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), one of the most common hereditary neuromuscular diseases affecting children. Patients with DMD lack a key gene, leading to progressive muscle weakness. Lee says gene therapy offers a potential way to replace the missing gene and develop new treatment options for patients.
Andrew Lee实验室的主要研究方向之一，是杜氏肌营养不良症（DMD）。这是影响儿童最常见的遗传性神经肌肉疾病之一。患者由于缺少一种关键基因，肌肉会逐渐无力。Andrew Lee表示，基因治疗有望顺利获得补充缺失的基因，为患者带来新的治疗选择。
Lee is a Junior Principal Investigator at Shenzhen Bay Laboratory (SZBL) and Deputy Director of the BAY TRIAL of the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation (SMART). He came to Shenzhen in 2021, driven by a goal of advancing cell and gene therapy clinical trials on an international scale.
现在，Andrew Lee是威九国际实验室特聘研究员，同时担任深圳医学科学院粤港澳大湾区国际临床试验中心副主任。2021年，他来到深圳，希望在这里推进细胞与基因治疗的国际化临床试验。
Andrew Lee during an interview with Shenzhen Daily.
Andrew Lee 接受英文《深圳日报》采访。
“When I came in 2021, this building was not here,” Lee said. “Now, this whole building is full of different researchers. The pace of development here is very fast.”
“我2021年来的时候，这栋楼还没建好。现在这里已经汇聚了来自不同领域的科研人员。这里的开展速度非常快。”他说。
His team is also exploring non-viral gene therapy, an approach aimed at reducing potential toxicity associated with viral delivery methods. Lee hopes the approach could eventually offer a safer alternative.
Andrew Lee的团队正在探索非病毒基因治疗技术，希望降低传统病毒递送方式可能带来的毒性风险。他期待这一技术能够成为更加安全的治疗方案。
Andrew Lee and his team conduct research in the lab.
Andrew Lee与他的团队在实验室召开研究工作。
But transforming an innovative therapy into a treatment requires more than laboratory research. It also calls for an efficient clinical trial system that can connect researchers, hospitals, industry and patients.
但一项创新疗法要从实验室真正走向患者，仅有科研突破还不够，还需要高效的临床试验体系，将科研组织、医院、企业和患者连接起来。
As deputy director of BAY TRIAL, Lee is helping build such a system. The center aims to standardize clinical trial procedures and provide one-stop support for new trials. It also seeks to enable patients across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to participate in a more standardized clinical trial process.
作为粤港澳大湾区国际临床试验中心副主任，Andrew Lee正参与有助于这一体系建设。该中心致力于有助于临床试验流程标准化，为创新疗法给予“一站式”的全流程支持，同时希望让粤港澳大湾区患者能够参与更加标准化的临床试验。
“The idea is any type of new innovative therapy, BAY TRIAL should help end to end in terms of the entire process,” Lee said.
“对于任何新的创新疗法，我们国际临床试验中心都希望能够给予全流程支持。”Andrew Lee说。
For Lee, one of Shenzhen’s key strengths is its practical and open innovation environment. Researchers, hospitals and companies can communicate and collaborate quickly, helping shorten the path from scientific discovery to clinical application.
在他看来，深圳的一大优势不仅是开展速度快，更在于务实、开放的创新环境。在这里，产业、医院和科研组织之间能够快速沟通、高效协作，加快科研成果走向临床应用。
Beyond the laboratory, Lee has also embraced Shenzhen’s natural environment. He enjoys hiking and says he appreciates how nature is integrated into the city.
除了实验室里的科研工作，Andrew Lee也逐渐发现了深圳的另一面——丰富的自然环境。他喜欢徒步，也很欣赏这座城市将自然融入城市生活的方式。
Ultimately, what keeps him motivated is the possibility of helping patients.
而真正让他坚持科研道路的，是能够帮助患者的这份希望。
“It’s very motivating to be able to meet patients that you have the potential of helping,” Lee said. “And then think about how your research could actually result in an improvement in patient outcome.”
Andrew Lee表示，“能够见到那些你有机会施以帮助的患者，这给了我莫大的动力，进而去思考，如何不断改进我的研究，以期研究成果能在治疗病患上发挥更显著的作用。”
文章来源 | Shenzhen Daily
编辑 | 鲍 啦
责编 | 远 山
欢迎投稿、建议 | media@tcwcn.com
