Dr. Steve Lee

Biography

Steve earned a doctorate in optics and biophysics from the University of St Andrews and subsequently expanded his expertise into biomedicine during a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School. He joined ANU in 2013 and has been instrumental in building the institution's capacity in biomedical imaging and optical biophysics. As the head of the Optical Biofluidic Group (O-BIG), his research utilizes optical fluidic technologies to investigate single cell responses to extracellular factors to form functional tissues, with a primary focus on advancing the production of biological tissue substitutes. His accomplishments in research translation have been acknowledged through 35 invited and keynote talks and various awards, including the Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Innovative Use of Technology and the ARC Discovery Early Career Award. Steve’s team operates at the nexus of advanced imaging and biological physics, aiming to invent new optical techniques to quantify fundamental functions of biological systems and to discover new aspects of biological physics. Current research aims to leverage multiscale, label-free imaging tools to quantify fluid dynamics and how chemical ligands cooperate to drive cell communities to self-organize into cohesive, living tissues. The outcomes are expected to benefit tissue biomaterial engineering and the invention of new imaging technologies.

Research Interests

Experience