Chiyoung Lee, PhD, RN

Chiyoung Lee, PhD, RN, is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on improving the lives of older adults by finding innovative, non-drug ways to manage chronic pain and the emotional symptoms that often go with it.

Dr. Lee's passion for nursing and patient care has taken her across the globe. She earned both her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2013 and her Master of Science in Nursing in 2017 from Seoul National University in South Korea.

To further her training, she moved to the United States and completed her PhD at the Duke University School of Nursing in 2020. This strong foundation in clinical nursing and academic research drives her current work in finding practical solutions for older adults living with persistent pain.

Dr. Lee's research aims to better understand neuropsychiatric symptoms—the way brain conditions affect our mood, sleep, and behavior. She is particularly interested in the biological, psychological, and social factors that link chronic pain with depression in older adults living with conditions like knee osteoarthritis (wear-and-tear arthritis of the knee).

To help these individuals, Dr. Lee is developing and testing high-tech, home-based treatments:

• Home-Based Neuromodulation: She designs treatments using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a noninvasive method that uses safe, low-level electrical currents to stimulate specific areas of the brain to reduce pain. Dr. Lee holds a specialized certification in tDCS training.
• Advanced Brain Imaging: In the lab, she studies how the brain processes pain. She uses advanced tools like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), which uses light to measure brain activity to see exactly how the brain responds to pain and treatment.