Dr. Lee received his first faculty appointment in 1994 as an Instructor in the Department of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Neurosurgery at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He became an Associate Professor there in 1998 and a member of the key clinical faculty in the following year. In 2000, Dr. Lee joined the faculty at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA as an Associate Professor and later a full Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Neurosurgery. He serves on the editorial boards of 12 journals including the American Journal of Ophthalmology, Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology, and Eye and is the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Academic Ophthalmology. Dr. Lee is a recipient of the Honor Award, Secretariat Award, and Senior Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Resident training is a particular interest of Dr. Lee. He has published several papers on teaching and competency testing methods in ophthalmology residency programs. Dr. Lee joined Houston Methodist Hospital and Research Institute in 2009 and is currently Chair of the Blanton Eye Institute at Houston Methodist Hospital and Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Neurosurgery at the Weill Cornell Medical College.

Dr. Lee is interested in optic nerve disorders and, in particular, tumors of the optic nerve. He is involved in ophthalmic graduate medical education and in the teaching and assessing of the ACGME competencies.