Kristy Lee

Kristy Lee is a Research Professor in the Department of Genetics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC Chapel Hill), affiliated with the UNC School of Medicine. She holds adjunct roles at UNC-Greensboro. Her expertise lies in genetic counseling, precision medicine, and genomic variant classification, with a focus on retinal dystrophies, bleeding disorders, and cancer genetics.

Education:

• B.S. in Animal Science (minors in Genetics and Nutrition), North Carolina State University (2000)
• M.S. in Genetic Counseling, UNC-Greensboro (2002)

Research Interests: Ms. Lee’s work emphasizes leveraging genetics to improve healthcare outcomes. She pioneered the use of genome sequencing in clinical settings, co-led the Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research (CSER) consortium, and contributed to ClinGen’s efforts in variant classification for genes like TP53. Her current projects include advancing precision medicine through biocuration of retinal and hematologic disorders.

Awards:

• Research Core Award from Foundation Fighting Blindness Inc. (2023)

Advising & Grants: She mentored Ming Lim, MD for the Hemostasis Thrombosis Research Society’s Dream Award (2018-2021) and supervised multiple genetic counseling students. She secured NC Tracs funding for genetic testing initiatives and collaborates with the ClinGen Consortium on data-sharing policies.

Labs/Teams: Key roles in ClinGen, including co-chairing the Data Access, Protection, and Confidentiality Working Group, and leadership in the Ocular Clinical Domain Working Group (OCDWG).