Sammy Lee (born Samuel Lee, 1958 – 21 July 2012) was an expert on
fertility
Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...
and
in vitro fertilisation
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) ...
He was a hospital scientific consultant and was the chief scientist at the Wellington IVF programme. His book ''Counselling in Male Infertility'' was published in 1996; he contributed to major newspaper articles and appeared on several current affairs television programmes. He was the "inspiration" for ''Anthony Ling'', the character in the novel ''One Life'' by Rebecca Frayn (Simon & Schuster 2006, ), after the author herself sought Lee's help for IVF treatment.
In 2010, ''Willing to Die for It'', Lee's biography by Frances Lynn was published by Murray Print.
Lee died suddenly on 21 July 2012.
Current research
Lee's interests lay in the field of stem cell biology and
regenerative medicine
Regenerative medicine deals with the "process of replacing, engineering or regenerating human or animal cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function". This field holds the promise of engineering damaged tissues and organs by st ...
. He was a visiting professor at the
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
where he collaborated with various groups in the Anatomy Department examining the potential of bone marrow derived
mesenchymal stem cell
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) also known as mesenchymal stromal cells or medicinal signaling cells are multipotent stromal cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types, including osteoblasts (bone cells), chondrocytes (cartilage cel ...
s to give rise to
neuronal
A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. No ...
growth factors
A growth factor is a naturally occurring substance capable of stimulating cell proliferation, wound healing, and occasionally cellular differentiation. Usually it is a secreted protein or a steroid hormone. Growth factors are important for reg ...
and
tissue culture
Tissue culture is the growth of tissues or cells in an artificial medium separate from the parent organism. This technique is also called micropropagation. This is typically facilitated via use of a liquid, semi-solid, or solid growth medium, su ...
manipulations. He also taught ethics of biomedicine at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
.
In addition, he was interested in tissue engineering and teaching ethics in reproduction. He was attached to the Jessen-Mirsky laboratory and was studying remyelination. Lee had ethical committee approval in Brasil for creating artificial gametes from umbilical cord blood derived stem cells. It is hoped these will be used to overcome infertility.
Biography
Lee originally researched his Ph.D. at UCL under the supervision of Professor
Ricardo Miledi
Ricardo Miledi (15 September 1927 – 18 December 2017) was a Mexican neuroscientist known for his work deciphering the role of calcium in neurotransmitter release. He also helped to develop a technique for studying native receptors in frog oocyte ...
FRS in the school of Sir Bernard Katz. Lee was also a signatory to a memento presented to Sir Bernard Katz on his 80th birthday from bona fide members of the school-occasion when the phrase "School of Katz" was coined.
Lee first published research in
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...
during the 1980s (from the
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...
department at UCL), having worked on nerve muscle interaction ranging from examining TTX-resistant action potentials in denervated muscle to studying cholinesterase activity in dissociated adult muscle fibres following up on the work first done in the same department by Bill Betz and
Bert Sakmann
Bert Sakmann (; born 12 June 1942) is a German cell physiologist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Erwin Neher in 1991 for their work on "the function of single ion channels in cells," and the invention of the patch cl ...
. Lee changed his focus to embryos, when he realised that many of the questions framed by his
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...
research were rooted in the matter of differentiation. The ultimate undifferentiated cell is the fertilised egg. This led Lee to work on gap junctions in early mammalian embryos (in the Anatomy & Embryology department at UCL), where work with Anne Warner FRS and
Anne McLaren
Dame Anne Laura Dorinthea McLaren, (26 April 1927 – 7 July 2007) was a British scientist who was a leading figure in developmental biology. Her work helped lead to human in vitro fertilisation (IVF),Ian Craft he directed the IVF laboratory at the Wellington Hospital in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, then one of the largest units in the world. Consultancy work with the UK division of Ares Serono (1986–1994) also involved work with the Bourn Hallam Group, which
Patrick Steptoe
Patrick Christopher Steptoe CBE FRS (9 June 1913 – 21 March 1988) was an English obstetrician and gynaecologist and a pioneer of fertility treatment. Steptoe was responsible with biologist and physiologist Robert Edwards and the nurse Jean ...
and
Bob Edwards
Robert Alan "Bob" Edwards is an American broadcast journalist, a Peabody Award-winning member of the National Radio Hall of Fame. He hosted both of National Public Radio's flagship news programs, the afternoon ''All Things Considered'', and '' ...
had set up after
Louise Brown
Louise Joy Brown (born 25 July 1978) is an English woman who was the first human to have been born after conception by ''in vitro'' fertilisation experiment (IVF). Her birth, following a procedure pioneered in Britain, has been lauded among "t ...
's birth. From 1995 to 2002 he was based at the
Portland Hospital
The Portland Hospital for Women and Children is a private maternity hospital on Great Portland Street, City of Westminster, London, England, owned by the Hospital Corporation of America.
History
The Portland was conceived by Barry Lewis, a ...
for Women & Children.
Lee latterly became based again at UCL. He was interested in
tissue engineering
Tissue engineering is a biomedical engineering discipline that uses a combination of cells, engineering, materials methods, and suitable biochemical and physicochemical factors to restore, maintain, improve, or replace different types of biolog ...
and teaching
ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...
in reproduction. He was working on tissue engineering and stem cells mainly concerned with background
research
Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...
on
Stem cells
In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of ...
and
Progenitor cells
In genealogy, the progenitor (rarer: primogenitor; german: Stammvater or ''Ahnherr'') is the – sometimes legendary – founder of a family, line of descent, clan or tribe, noble house, or ethnic group..
Ebenda''Ahnherr:''"Stammvater eines G ...
. Dr. Lee also had a keen interest in ethics and expressed this at UCL by running a course titled "Ethics of Fertility and Embryo Research". His students remarked him to be knowledgeable in the field of ethics and enthusiastic; they had particularly noted that he is clearly a fan of Kant.
He had previously served as an international editor of the Brazilian Journal of Assisted Reproduction. He served as a Trustee and director of several charities. His curriculum vitae lists numerous
scientific publications
: ''For a broader class of literature, see Academic publishing.''
Scientific literature comprises scholarly publications that report original empirical and theoretical work in the natural and social sciences. Within an academic field, scient ...
. He was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Health (now
Royal Society for Public Health
Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) is an independent, multi-disciplinary charity dedicated to the improvement of the public's health.
RSPH helps inform policy and practice, working to educate, empower and support communities and individuals ...
) and the
Royal Society of Medicine
The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London.
History
The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chamber ...
, both in 1987.
Lee's team at the Wellington pioneered the first UK practise of gamete Intra-fallopian Transfer ( GIFT), ''The GIFT of Life'' (a technique invented by Ricardo Asch in the USA). The team was the second to carry out GIFT and then proceeded to post the largest series in the world in 1986.
Lee also helped perform some of the first
egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
donations
A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as b ...
in the UK, when directing the Wellington Hospital IVF Laboratory.
Lee pioneered a simple inexpensive efficient form of Mechanical Assisted Hatching in the UK. He produced the world's first intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (
ICSI ICSI may refer to:
* Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, a medical technique used in assisted reproduction
* International Computer Science Institute, a non-profit research lab in Berkeley, California
* Institute of Company Secretaries of India
...
with NASBA
virus
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
discordant couple.
Lee had many
media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...
appearances having been on many
TV shows
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...
as well as writing a number of
newspapers
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...
articles . He wrote several books of his own: such as ''Counselling in Male Infertility'', and was also a contributor/ consultant in such books: ''The Miraculous World of The Unborn Baby'' (Quadrillion, Godalming, Surrey 1998) , ''Natural Fertility'' (Hamlyn 2002) and ''Inconceivable Conceptions''.
Lee was no stranger to controversy. In addition to his work in IVF, he had differences of opinion with the
HFEA
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom. It is a statutory body that regulates and inspects all clinics in the Unite ...
, most notably over the issue of
human cloning
Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy (or clone) of a human. The term is generally used to refer to artificial human cloning, which is the reproduction of human cells and tissue. It does not refer to the natural concepti ...
. He states that if it may be done safely and effectively, and be
morally
Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...
justifiable.
Lee also wrote an article in the '' Sunday Times'' (10 November 2002) in the aftermath of a number of high-profile embryo transfer mixups in several human IVF
clinics
A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care need ...
.
Professor Sammy Lee arranged a conference co-sponsored by the Progress Educational Trust entitled '21st Century Motherhood' at the University College London (UCL) (18 September 2009).
Speakers included
Peter Brinsden
Peter Robert Brinsden MBBS, MRCS, LRCP, FRCOG (born 2 September 1940) is known for the treatment of infertility in couples. From 1989 to 2006 he was the medical director of Bourn Hall Clinic in the UK, a leading centre for the treatment of fe ...
, Consultant Medical Director at Bourn Hall Clinic, Professor Lord
Robert Winston
Robert Maurice Lipson Winston, Baron Winston, (born 15 July 1940) is a British professor, medical doctor, scientist, television presenter and Labour Party politician.
Early life
Robert Winston was born in London to Laurence Winston and Rut ...
and Professor
Shere Hite
Shere Hite (; November 2, 1942 – September 9, 2020) was an American-born German sex educator and feminist. Her sexological work focused primarily on female sexuality. Hite built upon biological studies of sex by Masters and Johnson and by Alfred ...
.
Education and experience
Lee was educated at
Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
History
A committee of Nonconformist ...
and received a
B.Sc.
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
in
Physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
under the supervision of Prof.
Ricardo Miledi
Ricardo Miledi (15 September 1927 – 18 December 2017) was a Mexican neuroscientist known for his work deciphering the role of calcium in neurotransmitter release. He also helped to develop a technique for studying native receptors in frog oocyte ...
, in a group associated with Sir Bernard Katz. He later received a Diploma in
Counselling
Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes.
This is a list of co ...
from
London Hospital Medical College
Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, commonly known as Barts or BL, is a medical school, medical and dental school in London, England. The school is part of Queen Mary University of London, a constituent college of the federal Un ...
University of Greenwich
, mottoeng = "To learn, to do, to achieve"
, former_name = Woolwich Polytechnic(1890–1970)Thames Polytechnic(1970–1992)
, established =
, type = Public university
, budget = £214.9 million (2020)
, administrative_staff =
, chancel ...
.
Lee held the following appointments:
*Research Associate in Biophysics (1982–1984), and Anatomy & Embryology (1984–1985)
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
*Laboratory Director,
IVF
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) f ...
unit at the Humana Hospital Wellington in London (1985–1986)
*Consultant Clinical Embryologist, UK division of Ares
Serono
Serono was a biotechnology company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It was acquired by the German pharmaceutical company Merck in 2006. The company was founded as the Serono Pharmacological Institute by Cesare Serono in 1906 in Rome, It ...
(human recombinant pharmaceutical company)
*Scientific Director of the
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...
Fertility Service (1992 to 2001)
*Consultant Scientist and Director of
intracytoplasmic sperm injection
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI ) is an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure in which a single sperm cell is injected directly into the cytoplasm of an egg. This technique is used in order to prepare the gametes for the obtention of em ...
(ICSI) at the Portland Hospital for Women & Children (1995–2003)
*Acting Scientific Director for the
Chelsea & Westminster Hospital
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is a 430-bed teaching hospital located in Chelsea, London. Although the hospital has been at its present site since only 1993, the hospital has a rich history in that it serves as the new site for the Westminste ...
(1999–2000).
*Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Reproductive Medicine at the Homerton Hospital (2000–2005)
*Honorary Lecturer in the Anatomy & Developmental Biology Dept., University College London (2003–present).
*Visiting Professor in Biomedical Science at the ABC Medical School in
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
,
Brasil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area an ...
* http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0702/07021906
* http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article721865.ece Rebecca Frayn says Lee "created" Emmy, her daughter.
* http://www.rte.ie/news/2001/0816/primetime_av.html Lee debates cloning on RTÉ Primetime.
Serono fertility award granted to Sammy Lee 1991
Bibliography
Selected journal articles
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Newspaper articles
*
* S. Lee. The baby factories. Sunday Telegraph. 10 November 2002.
*
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