Brenda Yasie Lee is a Canadian membrane biology researcher and a lecturer in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Waterloo.
Early life and education Lee was born and raised in Waterloo, Ontario. Her family immigrated to Canada from Taiwan in 1990. She is a graduate of Rockway Mennonite Collegiate and was among the 2009 recipients of the Governor General's Academic Bronze Medal.
Lee completed a BSc in 2013 with a focus on Alzheimer's disease at the University of Waterloo followed by a PhD in nanoscale biophysics. Her doctoral thesis, Antimicrobial Peptide Daptomycin and its Inhibition by Pulmonary Surfactant: Biophysical Studies using Model Membrane Systems, was completed in 2017 under the supervision of Zoya Leonenko.
Research Lee's work includes the use of nanotechnology to study lipid-protein interactions as they relate various diseases including Alzheimer's disease and pneumonia.
Teaching and learning
Lee is the founder of Tutoring Beyond Borders. The volunteer program offers tutoring support to high school students from university students in STEM programs.
Lee was recognized for teaching excellence by the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance in 2019. In 2024 she was awarded a Distinguished Teaching Award from Waterloo's Centre for Teaching Excellence in 2024.
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