Rate My Professor Soon Goo Lee

Soon Goo Lee serves as Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Kennesaw State University, within the College of Science and Mathematics. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree summa cum laude from Sogang University and a Doctor of Philosophy from Washington University in St. Louis. His research program investigates the structure and function of enzymes, regulatory proteins, and signaling molecules in plant and microbial metabolic pathways involved in natural product biosynthesis, as well as host-microbe interactions in organisms such as Plasmodium falciparum, Pseudomonas syringae, and Sinorhizobium fredii. Utilizing biochemical and biophysical approaches, particularly protein X-ray crystallography, his laboratory employs a strategy encompassing genomic identification, structure-based functional studies, and protein engineering to advance knowledge in protein biochemistry, parasitology, plant biology, and microbial biology.

With approximately 50 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters to his credit, Lee's scholarship has significantly impacted his fields. Select publications include "Molecular basis for AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR protein interaction and the control of auxin response repression" (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014), "Indole-3-acetaldehyde dehydrogenase-dependent auxin synthesis contributes to virulence of Pseudomonas syringae strain DC3000" (PLoS Pathogens, 2018), "A structural basis for the biosynthesis of the major chlorogenic acids found in coffee" (Plant Physiology, 2012), "Molecular basis for branched steviol glucoside biosynthesis" (PNAS, 2019), and "Structure and reaction mechanism of phosphoethanolamine methyltransferase from the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum" (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2012). He has received the 2026 KSU Outstanding Teaching Award, Outstanding Teaching Excellence Award from the College of Science and Mathematics at KSU, Arthur Neish Young Investigator Award from the Phytochemical Society of North America (2021), ASBMB Early Career Faculty Travel Award, The Charles L. Cahill Research Award, and numerous other travel grants and fellowships. Additionally, Lee contributes to the scientific community as an Early Career Reviewer for the Journal of Biological Chemistry since 2019, an editorial board member for Scientific Reports since 2019, and associate editor for Frontiers in Chemistry and Frontiers in Plant Science (Plant Metabolism & Chemodiversity) since 2022.