After earning a degree in chemistry from Morris Brown College, Lee attended Clark Atlanta University to complete his Ph.D. in biochemistry while conducting research at Morehouse School of Medicine. He continued his career as a scientist at Emory University School of Medicine in the Winship Cancer Center (1996-1999) before joining the research faculty in the pathology and laboratory medicine department (1999-2002) where his basic science research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute.