Byron H. Lee, MD, PhD
Department of Urology, Division of Surgery
About Byron Lee
Byron Lee, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He attended medical and graduate school at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he developed an interest in urologic cancer research with a focus on cancer epigenetics. After finishing urology residency at Cleveland Clinic, he spent one year at Stanford University as a postdoctoral fellow before completing urologic oncology fellowship training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He returned to Cleveland Clinic as a staff surgeon-scientist before joining the faculty at MD Anderson.
In addition to performing endoscopic and robotic surgery for bladder cancer patients, Dr. Lee leads a basic and translational research laboratory that focuses on examining the biologic effects of chromatin modifier gene mutations on the urothelium and tumor microenvironment. He has successfully competed for a Kimmel Scholar Award from the Sidney Kimmel Foundation, a Young Investigator Award from the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, a K08 career development award from the National Cancer Institute, and a multi-PI U01 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases that seeks to generate a single cell transcriptome and regulatory map of the human ureter and bladder. His long-term career goal is to improve the lives of bladder cancer patients through excellent surgical care and impactful research.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Urology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Associate Professor, Urology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2007 | Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, US, Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Medicine |
| 2007 | Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, US, M.D |
| 1998 | Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, US, B.A. in Biology with General Honors |
Postgraduate Training
| 2014-2016 | Clinical Fellowship, Urologic Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York |
| 2013-2014 | Postdoctoral Fellowship, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California |
| 2008-2013 | Residency, Urology, Cleveland Clinic Glickman Urological & Kidney Institute, Cleveland, Ohio |
| 2007-2008 | Internship, General Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2019 | American Board of Urology |
Experience & Service
Other Professional Positions
Regular Member, Genetics and Epigenetics Program, UT Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, Houston, TX, 2023 - Present
Extramural Institutional Committee Activities
Member, Division of Surgery Basic/Translational Research Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2023 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 2020 | Early-Career Investigators Showcase, American Urological Association |
| 2017 | Kimmel Scholars Award, Sidney Kimmel Foundation |
| 2017 | Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network Young Investigator Award, Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network |
| 2016 | Chairman’s Award for Excellence in Basic Science, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center |
| 2013 | William E. Lower Memorial Award, Cleveland Clinic |
| 2012 | Outstanding Laparoendoscopic Resident Award, Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons |
| 1998 | Golden Key International Honor Society |
| 1998 | Phi Beta Kappa |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Patel SR, Lee BH. Editorial Comment. J Urol:101097JU0000000000005190, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 42406893.
- MacDonald LP, Kypriotakis G, Karam-Hage M, Minnix JA, Beneventi D, Cui Y, Blalock JA, Robinson JD, Alhalabi O, Hassanazadeh CJ, Lee BH, Navai N, Kamat AM, Dinney CP, Cinciripini PM, Bree KK. Survival Outcomes of a Smoking Cessation Treatment Program After Diagnosis of Bladder Cancer. Eur Urol Oncol, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 42236415.
- Yu K, Chen J, Chu YY, Nair S, Crupi E, Hasanov E, Mei Y, Han X, Liu Y, Liu Y, Pei G, Peng F, Liao J, Dai E, Chu T, Cho KS, Jiang J, Yan X, Dai Y, Wang J, Zhang B, Genovese G, Putluri N, Eberlin L, Yang L, Lin C, Kwong LN, Shamsutdinova D, Wani KM, Czerniak BA, Yu W, Zhao J, Guo CC, Hansel D, Pettaway C, Pisters L, Bree K, Navai N, Lee BH, Kamat AM, Sharma P, Corn P, Jiang CY, Shah AY, Alhalabi O, Msaouel P, Siefker-Radtke AO, Logothetis CJ, Campbell MT, Lazar AJ, Gao J, Wang L. A Spatial Atlas of Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer Reveals Lineage-Specific Vulnerabilities and Immune Architecture. Cancer Discov, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 42126225.
- Le NB, Sona S, Santo B, Zhang Y, Ou R, Schweickart RA, Kochat V, Padron WI, Rai K, Lee SH, Yi JM, Wessely O, Lee BH, Ting AH. Differentiation in the human urothelia is defined by distinct alternative polyadenylation. Cell Rep 45(1), 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 41533515.
- Singh P, D'Rozario R, Chakraborty B, Meher S, Raychaudhuri D, Tannir AJ, Li Y, Majumdar A, Hawkins J, Xiong Y, Lorenzi P, Sharma P, Akdemir K, Pilie P, Jain AK, Lee BHL, Goswami S. Loss of KDM6A-mediated genomic instability and metabolic reprogramming regulates response to therapeutic perturbations in bladder cancer. Nat Commun 17(1), 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 41501085.
- Carriere P, Alhalabi O, Gao J, Shah A, Goswami S, Campbell M, Lin R, Mayo L, Mohamad O, Hoffman K, Mok H, Lozano C, Kamat A, Navai N, Bree K, Lee B, Guo C, Rooney M, Tang C, Choi S, Hassanzadeh C. Metastasis-directed radiotherapy for oligometastatic urothelial carcinoma of the bladder and upper tract. Bladder Cancer 12(1):23523735251414249, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 41550986.
- Juric I, Fink EE, Qiu H, Desprez PE, Ravi A, Holton M, Makarov V, Almassi N, Min B, Getz G, Chan TA, Alban T, Ting AH, Lee BH. Single-cell RNA-sequencing of BCG naive and recurrent non-muscle invasive bladder cancer reveals a CD6/ALCAM-mediated immune-suppressive pathway. NPJ Precis Oncol 9(1):318, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 41006678.
- Ouzaid I, Gabriel PE, Lee B, Delporte G, Puech P, Lemaitre L, Xylinas E, Villers A, Haber GP. Arterial Embolization versus Robotic Partial Nephrectomy for the Treatment of Renal Angiomyolipomas. Int Braz J Urol 51(5), 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40513023.
- Fink EE, Zhang Y, Santo B, Siddavatam A, Ou R, Nanavaty V, Lee BH, Ting AH. Heat shock induces alternative polyadenylation through dynamic DNA methylation and chromatin looping. Cell Stress Chaperones 30(4):100084, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40412548.
- Mokkapati S, Manyam G, Steinmetz AR, Tholomier C, Martini A, Choi W, Czerniak B, Lee BH, Dinney CP, McConkey DJ. Molecular profiling of bladder cancer xenografts defines relevant molecular subtypes and provides a resource for biomarker discovery. Transl Oncol 52:102269, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 39808845.
- Santo B, Fink EE, Krylova AE, Lin YC, Eltemamy M, Wee A, Wessely O, Lee BH, Ting AH. Exploring the utility of snRNA-seq in profiling human bladder tissue: A comprehensive comparison with scRNA-seq. iScience 28(1):111628, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 39850354.
- Ramanujan S, Orji P, Chiu A, Kumar SS, Jevnikar W, Cox B, Montague D, Almassi N, Lee B, Bena J, Morrison S, Chehroudi AC, Bajic P, De S. Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Knowledge Deficits Among Male Urology Patients. Urology 199:141-146, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 39824366.
- Moussa, MJ, Tabet, GC, Siefker-Radtke, AO, Xiao, L, Wilson, NR, Gao, J, Logothetis, CJ, Grivas, PD, Lee, B, Shah, AY, Msaouel, P, Li, R, Clemente, LC, Zhao, J, Tannir, NM, Kamat, A, Hansel, DE, Guo, CC, Campbell, M, Alhalabi, O. Histopathologic Progression and Metastatic Relapse Outcomes in Small Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinomas of the Urinary Tract. Cancer medicine 14(2), 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 39831734.
- Campbell, R, Wood, A, Michael, PD, Shin, D, Pramod, N, Haywood, S, Eltemamy, M, Weight, C, Haber, GP, Lee, B, Myles, J, McKenney, J, Nguyen, JK, Williamson, SR, Przybycin, CG, Alaghehbandan, R, Almassi, N. Impact of pathologic re-review on grade, clinical stage, and risk stratification for patients with nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer. Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations 42(11):372.e21-372.e27, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38880703.
- Carriere P, Alhalabi O, Gao J, Mohamad O, Campbell MT, Shah A, Goswami S, Bree K, Lee B, Navai N, Mok H, Mayo L, Guo C, Nguyen Q, McGuire S, Park R, Shah S, Hoffman K, Frank S, Tang C, Choi S, Kamat A, Hassanzadeh C. Bladder-preserving radiation therapy for patients with locally advanced and node-positive bladder cancer. Clin Transl Radiat Oncol 49:100866, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39403573.
- Myers AA, Fang AM, Moussa MJ, Hwang H, Wilson NR, Campbell MT, Msaouel P, Lee BH, Guo CC, Zhang M, Zhao J, Siefker-Radtke AO, Kamat AM, Alhalabi O. Impact of systemic therapy on clinical T1 small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the bladder. ESMO Open 9(11):103964, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39471563.
- Plumber SA, Tate T, Al-Ahmadie H, Chen X, Choi W, Basar M, Lu C, Viny A, Batourina E, Li J, Gretarsson K, Alija B, Molotkov A, Wiessner G, Lee BHL, McKiernan J, McConkey DJ, Dinney C, Czerniak B, Mendelsohn CL. Rosiglitazone and trametinib exhibit potent anti-tumor activity in a mouse model of muscle invasive bladder cancer. Nat Commun 15(1):6538, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39095358.
- Myers AA, Tan WS, Grajales V, Hwang H, Bree KK, Navai N, Lee BH, Dinney CPN, Kamat AM. Challenging the Paradigm of "BCG-unresponsive" Bladder Cancer: Does Additional Bacillus Calmette-Guerin Have an Effect?. Eur Urol 86(4):366-368, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38879371.
- Knorr J, Lone Z, Werneburg G, Adler A, Agudelo J, Suryavanshi M, Campbell RA, Ericson K, Qiu H, Bajic P, Haber GP, Weight CJ, Ahern PP, Almassi N, Miller AW, Lee BH. An exploratory study investigating the impact of the bladder tumor microbiome on Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) response in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations 42(9):291.e1-291.e11, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38664180.
- Campbell, R, Khanna, A, Boorjian, SA, Knorr, JM, Cox, R, Nicholas, M, Cheville, JC, Sharma, V, Murthy, PB, Tarrell, R, Thapa, P, Tollefson, MK, Thompson, RH, Frank, I, Karnes, RJ, Haber, GP, Lee, BH. Impact of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy on Pathologic Downstaging in Patients With Variant Histology Undergoing Radical Cystectomy. Clinical Genitourinary Cancer 22(2):157-163.e1, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38008690.
- Steinmetz AR, Pierce M, Martini A, Tholomier C, Manyam G, Chen Y, Sood A, Duplisea JJ, Johnson BA, Czerniak BA, Lee BH, Jagannath C, Yla-Herttuala S, Parker NR, McConkey DJ, Dinney CP, Mokkapati S. Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis identifies acute changes in the tumor microenvironment induced by interferon alpha gene therapy in a murine bladder cancer model. Front Immunol 15:1387229, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39559365.
- Lone, Z, Benidir, T, Wood, A, Campbell, RA, Alaghehbandan, R, Li, J, Haber, GP, Eltemamy, M, Haywood, SC, Weight, CJ, Lee, BH, Almassi, N. Oncologic outcomes of intravesical therapy in the management of nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer with variant histology. Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations 42(3):71.e1-71.e7, 2023. PMID: 38135626.
- Contieri, R, Hensley, PJ, Tan, WS, Grajales, V, Bree, KK, Nogueras Gonzalez, G, Lee, B, Navai, N, Dinney, CP, Kamat, A. Oncological Outcomes for Patients with European Association of Urology Very High-risk Non-muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer Treated with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin or Early Radical Cystectomy. European Urology Oncology 6(6):590-596, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37558542.
- Miller, BT, Ellis, RC, Walsh, RM, Joyce, D, Simon, R, Almassi, N, Lee, B, DeBernardo, RL, Steele, SR, Haywood, S, Beffa, L, Tu, C, Rosen, MJ. Physiologic tension of the abdominal wall. Surgical endoscopy 37(12):9347-9350, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37640951.
- Qiu, H, Makarov, V, Bolzenius, JK, Halstead, A, Parker, Y, Wang, A, Iyer, GV, Wise, H, Kim, D, Thayaparan, V, Lindner, D, Haber, GP, Ting, AH, Ren, B, Chan, TA, Arora, V, Solit, DB, Lee, BH. KDM6A Loss Triggers an Epigenetic Switch That Disrupts Urothelial Differentiation and Drives Cell Proliferation in Bladder Cancer. Cancer Research 83(6):814-829, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36638328.
- Fink, EE, Sona, S, Lee, BH, Ting, AH. Processing and cryopreservation of human ureter tissues for single-cell and spatial transcriptomics assays. STAR Protocols 3(4), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36595885.
- Lone, Z, Zhang, A, Benidir, T, Corrigan, D, Munoz-Lopez, C, Hegde, P, Fung, K, Fajnzylber, J, Campbell, R, Ramkumar, R, Murthy, PB, Eltemamy, M, Kaouk, JH, Pascal-Haber, G, Almassi, N, Weight, C, Lee, BH. The role of enhanced recovery after surgery protocols in the development of acute kidney injury following radical cystectomy. Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations 40(10):453.e1-453.e7, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35953395.
- Benidir, T, Lone, Z, Zhang, A, Nowacki, AS, Munoz-Lopez, C, Hegde, P, Fung, K, Fajnzylber, J, Abouassaly, R, Berglund, RK, Klein, EA, Eltemamy, M, Kaouk, JH, Weight, C, Almassi, N, Pascal-Haber, G, Lee, BH. Comparing Pathologic and Survival Outcomes Between Primary and Secondary Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer When Treated by Radical Cystectomy With or Without Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy. Urology 168:137-142, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35772481.
- Fink, EE, Sona, S, Tran, U, Desprez, PE, Bradley, M, Qiu, H, Eltemamy, M, Wee, A, Wolkov, M, Nicolas, MM, Min, B, Haber, GP, Wessely, O, Lee, BH, Ting, AH. Single-cell and spatial mapping Identify cell types and signaling networks in the human ureter. Developmental cell 57(15):1899-1916.e6, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35914526.
- Knorr, JM, Campbell, R, Cockrum, J, Dalton, JE, Murthy, PB, Berglund, RK, Cullen, J, Weight, C, Almassi, N, Abouassaly, R, Kaouk, JH, Haber, GP, Lee, BH. Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage Associated With Increased 90-Day Mortality Following Radical Cystectomy. Urology 163:177-184, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 34974027.
- Lone, Z, Campbell, R, Corrigan, D, Ramkumar, R, Hegde, P, Rahmy, A, Murthy, PB, Haber, GP, Almassi, N, Lee, BH. Ability of the surgical Apgar score to predict acute kidney injury following radical cystectomy. Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations 40(5):194.e1-194.e6, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 34654645.
- Khanna, A, Miest, T, Sharma, V, Campbell, R, Hensley, PJ, Thapa, P, Zganjar, A, Tollefson, MK, Thompson, RH, Frank, I, Karnes, RJ, Murthy, PB, Haber, GP, Navai, N, Kamat, A, Dinney, CP, Lee, BH, Boorjian, SA. Role of Lymphadenectomy during Radical Cystectomy for Nonmuscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer. Journal of Urology 207(3):551-558, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 34694143.
- Miest, T, Khanna, A, Sharma, V, Hensley, PJ, Campbell, R, Thapa, P, Zganjar, A, Tollefson, MK, Thompson, RH, Frank, I, Karnes, RJ, Potretzke, AM, Matin, S, Murthy, PB, Haber, GP, Lee, BH, Boorjian, SA. Development and Validation of a Risk-Adapted Scoring Model for Metachronous Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma following Radical Cystectomy. Journal of Urology 207(2):284-292, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 34547921.
- Murthy, PB, Lone, Z, Corrigan, D, Campbell, R, Munoz-Lopez, C, Caveney, M, Gerber, D, Ericson, K, Thomas, LJ, Zhang, JH, Kaouk, JH, Weight, C, Berglund, RK, Haber, GP, Lee, BH. Survival outcomes following radical cystectomy in patients with prior pelvic radiation for prostate cancer. Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations 40(1):10.e13-10.e19, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 34400070.
- Werneburg, GT, Keslar, KS, Gotwald, P, Doolittle, J, Vij, SC, Lee, BH, Shoskes, DA. Neuroinflammatory gene expression analysis reveals potential novel mediators and treatment targets in interstitial cystitis with Hunner lesions. Translational Andrology and Urology 10(11):4100-4109, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34984176.
- Murthy, PB, Lone, Z, Munoz-Lopez, C, Ericson, JK, Thomas, LJ, Caveney, M, Gerber, D, Khanna, A, Abouassaly, R, Haber, GP, Lee, BH. Comparison of Oncologic Outcomes Following Open and Robotic-assisted Radical Cystectomy with both Extracorporeal and Intracorporeal Urinary Diversion. Urology 154:184-190, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33891929.
- Lone, Z, Murthy, PB, Zhang, JH, Ericson, K, Thomas, LJ, Khanna, A, Haber, GP, Lee, BH. Comparison of renal function after open radical cystectomy, extracorporeal robot assisted radical cystectomy, and intracorporeal robot assisted radical cystectomy. Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations 39(5):301.e1-301.e9, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33036904.
- Knorr, JM, Ericson, K, Zhang, JH, Murthy, PB, Nowacki, AS, Munoz-Lopez, C, Thomas, LJ, Haber, GP, Lee, BH. Comparison of Major Complications at 30 and 90 Days Following Radical Cystectomy. Urology 148:192-197, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 32888983.
Review Articles
- Li R, Hensley PJ, Babjuk M, Bukavina L, Psutka SP, Lerner SP, O'Donnell MA, Lotan Y, Bree KK, Redorta JP, McConkey DJ, Lee BH, Mariappan P, Mertens LS, Soloway MS, Svatek RS, Tan WS, Williams SB, Gupta S, Buckley R, Kamat AM. Intermediate-risk Non-muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer: Recommendations for Definitions, Risk Stratification, Management Strategies, and Clinical Trial Design from the International Bladder Cancer Group. Eur Urol Oncol 8(6):1685-1695, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 41076366.
- Palencia PS, Sivanesan N, Rahman S, Ghali F, Hesse D, Colberg J, Sridhar A, Kelly JD, Lee BH, Kamat AM, Tan WS. Partial Cystectomy for Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 17(15), 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40805257.
- Lotan Y, Agarwal P, Black P, Dickstein R, Kamat AM, Lee B, Narayan VM, Porten S, Psutka SP, Smith AK, Svatek RS, Williams SB, Woldu S. Standardization of the evaluation and surveillance of patients with BCG unresponsive high grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer clinical trials. Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38307803.
- Janssen, GW, Ramkumar, R, Lee, BH, van der Heijden, AG. Orthotopic urinary diversions after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer. Current opinion in urology 31(6):580-585, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34175877.
- Murthy, PB, Campbell, R, Lee, BH. Intracorporeal Urinary Diversion in Robotic Radical Cystectomy. Urologic Clinics of North America 48(1):51-70, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33218594.
Other Articles
- Campbell, R, Lee, BH Editorial Comment. Urology 171:139, 2023. PMID: 36610777.
- Knorr, JM, Campbell, R, Cockrum, J, Dalton, JE, Murthy, PB, Berglund, RK, Cullen, J, Weight, C, Almassi, N, Abouassaly, R, Kaouk, JH, Haber, GP, Lee, BH AUTHOR REPLY. Urology 163:184, 2022. PMID: 35636850.
- Lee, BH EDITORIAL COMMENT. Urology 156:108-109, 2021. PMID: 34758551.
Editorials
- Ting AH, Lee BH. 5mC: what goes on must come off. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 23(5):306, 2022. PMID: 35217851.
Book Chapters
- Lee BH, Navai N, Dinney CP. Surgical mangaement of bladder cancer: Transurethral, open, and robotic. In: Campbell Walsh Wein Urology. 13th Edition. Elsevier, 2756-2783.e2, 2025.
- McConkey, DJ, Mendelsohn, C, Lee, B, Dinney, CP, Czerniak, BA. Molecular Pathogenesis: Field Cancerization and Clonal Evolution in Urothelial Cancer Initiation and Progression. In: Biology of Bladder Cancer. 1. Springer Nature, 221-238, 2025.
Letters to the Editor
- Nunez-Rodriguez E, Lee BH, Cata JP. Understanding regional anesthesia's impact on non-muscle invasive bladder cancer oncological outcomes. Reg Anesth Pain Med, 2025.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified July 29, 2026