Rate My Professor Chris Lee

Dr. Chris Lee serves as a Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, at Monash University. A dedicated botanist, researcher, and educator, he brings extensive experience from field work, laboratory research, and classroom teaching. Lee earned his PhD in Botany from the University of British Columbia in 2015, where his dissertation focused on the phylogeny and ecological niche modeling of Rocky Mountain daisies. Prior to that, he obtained a BSc in Plant Biology from the same university in 2008. His academic journey has equipped him with a strong foundation in plant sciences, which he applies in both research and education at Monash.

Lee's research specializes in plant taxonomy, ecology, and conservation, utilizing genomic tools to explore how ecology, genetics, and climate change influence the success of native plants and invasive weeds. He employs GIS-based ecological modeling, molecular phylogenetics, and conducts biodiversity surveys, weed assessments, and habitat evaluations for government, Indigenous groups, academia, and industry. His expertise extends to the flora of southeast Australia, the Pacific Northwest, and Rocky Mountains of North America, with skills in phylogeny, niche modeling, taxonomy, asexuality, and polyploidy. In education, Lee champions experiential, field-based learning, coordinating units such as BIO3091 Biology of Australian Vegetation and BIO2181 Evolution of Plant Diversity. He received the Dean's Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning from the Monash University Faculty of Science in 2022. Notable publications include "Large haploblocks underlie rapid adaptation in the invasive weed Ambrosia artemisiifolia" (Nature Communications, 2023), "Genome assembly of an Australian native grass species reveals a recent whole-genome duplication and biased gene retention of genes involved in stress response" (GigaScience, 2023), "Uncovering the genomic basis of an extraordinary plant invasion" (Science Advances, 2022), and "Townsendia lemhiensis (Asteraceae, Astereae): A narrowly endemic new species from Idaho, USA" (2022). His work contributes to understanding plant adaptation and invasion dynamics.