Convinced by the James Herriot stories to study veterinary science, Lee pursued a career in wildlife health research with his classmate, Lee Berger. They deferred after their third year in 1991 to investigate the opportunities in Australia and were employed by the late Rick Speare to study mebendazole toxicity in macropods. Encouraged by that experience Lee undertook a Bachelor of Animal Science on parasites of native animals with Ian Beveridge. After a sojourn in mixed clinical practice in rural Victoria, he returned to research studying Australian bat lyssavirus and lead poisoning in flying foxes before undertaking a PhD on sarcoptic mange in wombats. Again Lee and Lee travelled for a year after their PhDs looking for opportunities in wildlife health research overseas before Lee S undertook a postdoc on diseases of sea ducks at the USGS National Wildlife Health Centre in Madison, Wisconsin. They returned to Australia to raise their children and establish a One Health Research Group studying diseases impacting biodiversity such as chytridiomycosis and important emerging zoonoses arising from wildlife like avian influenza and Hendra virus. Lee is currently an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and employed as a Principal Research Fellow in wildlife biosecurity at the Melbourne Veterinary School at the University of Melbourne.