Dr. Brenda Lee, a new continuing lecturer in the Department of Physics & Astronomy, describes herself fondly as a “Waterloo lifer.” Lee not only grew up in Waterloo, but she also attended the University for her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences and Physics. After graduating with her BSc in 2013, she immediately launched herself into a PhD in Nanobiophysics, which she completed in 2017. “I’ve always been passionate about how things work, especially things that we may not be able to see” Lee said.
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I took biomed and physics in the hopes of combining that knowledge to look at biological phenomena from a different perspective.”
Lee stated that her inspiration came in her second year of undergrad, when she joined Professor Zoya Leonenko’s Nanoscale Biophysics group to help conduct research on understanding the molecular mechanism of Alzheimer’s disease. The lab uses physics and nanotechnology tools such as atomic force microscopy for nanoscale imaging, surface plasmon resonance and Langmuir-Blodgett monolayer technique to study biophysical phenomena of lipids and proteins at the nanoscale and single molecule level. Fascinated by these experimental techniques and the subject area, Lee stayed with Leonenko throughout her entire academic career, from undergraduate to postdoctoral studies. “Zoya didn’t just provide me with amazing tools to work with and a great lab environment to be in; she also gave me the opportunity to grow into the person that I am today.”
Amid her studies, Lee found time to start a pro bono tutoring service, Tutoring Beyond Borders, which has provided over $2.5 million worth of free tutoring services to local high school students since she founded the charity in 2010. As a UofWaterloo co-op employer, she also received a Top Employer Award for her charitable work in 2013. She and her husband also started a web development company called CryoDragon using the experience they both gained through their UofWaterloo studies. Working together with Leonenko, Lee also contributed significantly to the development of the Biophysical Society of Canada, where she helped develop their website and is now a part of the Executive Committee.
Although her undergraduate project was focused on Alzheimer’s disease, Lee’s PhD research centered around an antimicrobial peptide called daptomycin, a powerful drug that is effective against numerous resistant bacteria. Despite being effective outside of the lungs, daptomycin is completely ineffective against the bacteria that causes pneumonia inside the lungs. Using the same biophysical techniques as before, Lee focused on shedding light onto daptomycin’s inhibition by the lung surfactant that lines our lungs. For her interdisciplinary work in the field of nanotechnology, Lee was awarded an Ontario Graduate Scholarship and Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology Fellowship. She was also awarded the SWAAC Graduate Student Award of Merit for her leadership as a woman in the local STEM community.
With teaching being a key part of Lee’s extracurricular activities, Leonenko helped Lee solidify her passion for university teaching. As a graduate student, Lee spent years as a teaching assistant for microbiology labs and her exemplary teaching evaluations garnered her the Amit and Meena Chakma Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Student in 2014. While Leonenko was on sabbatical, Lee taught one of her mentor’s biophysics courses, an experience that convinced Lee to pursue teaching as a career. The new lecturer has since received several teaching awards, including the OUSA and FEDS Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Awards in 2019.
Now, she hopes to share her passion for interdisciplinary studies with her students, and to “always encourage them to look at things from another perspective.”
But Lee isn’t all work and no play. When she has the time, she’s an avid video gamer and superhero / sci-fi fan with a penchant for collecting and displaying geeky items and T-shirts. Apart from that, she is best known for always being there for her colleagues and students, setting up extra office hours for those in need, or lending a helping hand whenever required.
Lee believes that “teaching isn’t just about what happens in the classroom; it’s also about the care you give to others, and the little differences you make that add up with everything you do.”
