Dr. Francis Lee obtained an MD and PhD from the University of Michigan, followed by Psychiatry residency training at Payne Whitney Clinic, Weill Cornell Medical College. He completed further postdoctoral training in molecular neuroscience at the Skirball Institute, New York University and the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Lee is the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Psychiatrist-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Lee directs a laboratory whose main area of research is in basic molecular and neural mechanisms that are relevant to neuropsychiatric disorders. In particular, his research is focused on using genetic models to delineate the role of growth factors, such as BDNF, in complex behaviors related to the pathophysiology and treatment of affective disorders.