Charles Lee

A sense of wonder, attempt to understand life (biology), and chain of unanswered childhood questions began to converge when Charles made his first observation of leukemia cells under the microscope as an undergraduate at UC Davis. His love for cell biology grew through isolation, differentiation, and genetic modification of various stem cell populations that he investigated in graduate studies at UC Davis. Charles sought ways to provide stem cells with a microenvironment that could regulate the intricate balance between self-renewal and lineage commitment. This effort led to the development of the hyper-crosslinked carbohydrate polymer (HCCP), which became the basic building block of a tissue engineering programs aimed to develop a personalized, regenerative therapy.

After the initial development and proof-of-concept studies at UC Davis, he founded Molecular Matrix, Inc in 2011 to bring the HCCP technology to patients with bone-related diseases through regulatory studies. Charles works closely with researchers, surgeons, business developers, financial and regulatory professionals at Molecular Matrix, Inc. to create and maintain a corporate culture that fosters integrity, innovation, and passion for improving the quality of life for people in need.