Lee comes to VCU after serving as professor and associate chair of health policy and management at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and faculty director of the Griffith Leadership Center at the University of Michigan. His main research interest is in health care organizations. In addition, he has conducted studies on issues related to health care utilization, physician manpower, and health information technology. His current research applies the theories of social capital, social support and social networks to the understanding of health care organizations and patient behavior.   

“The dean envisioned having someone on her leadership team who could think out loud with her in charting new grounds and direction for the College,” said Lee. “This is beyond just focusing on the research within the College. What I see in front of us are opportunities to do something innovative, new, exciting and hopefully effective and impactful.”
 
Lee’s work has appeared in major health services research and management journals. He has received recognitions from several regional and national associations, notably the Best Pre- and Post- Doctoral Presentation Award from the Association for Health Services Research in 1997, the John D. Thompson Prize for Young Investigators from AUPHA in 2002, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Investigator Awards in Health Policy Research in 2008, and the Medical Care Research & Review Best Paper Award in 2009. He currently serves on the boards of AUPHA and National Center for Healthcare Leadership.
 
He received his doctoral degree in health services organization and policy from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; his Master of Science in public health from National Yang-Ming University; and his Bachelor of Science in zoology from National Taiwan University, both in Taipei, Taiwan. In his spare time, Lee enjoys cooking, gardening and reading. He and his family will relocate to Richmond this summer.