William M. Lee, M.D., FACP, FAASLD, is a co-founder and Board member of V-VHA.  Dr. Lee is a renowned liver disease expert and Professor at UT Southwestern. He completed training at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, and Kings College Hospital, London before embarking upon a career in academic medicine. He joined the UT Southwestern Medical Center faculty in 1990. Dr. Lee’s clinical research and patient care has focused on all forms of hepatitis—causes of inflammation and damage to the liver.

Dr. Lee became a hepatologist because the diseases of the liver are fascinating and represent unusual and important lessons in medicine. Dr. Lee remains active in clinical research on viral hepatitis and drug-induced liver injury. He has been site investigator for four National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases-sponsored Networks: the HALT-C Trial, the Acute Liver Failure Study Group, the Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network, and the Hepatitis B Research Network.

He is a member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the American Gastroenterological Association, and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Gastroenterology. In 2009, he gave the prestigious Leon Schiff Memorial Lecture at the Annual AASLD meeting and in 2011 he received the Award for Excellence for Outstanding Contributions in Health/Sciences from the Dallas Historical Society.

Dr. Lee obtained his B.A. from Amherst College and received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He did his training in Internal Medicine at the Presbyterian Hospital, New York City (Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center) and served as Chief Resident on the Internal Medicine service. He was Honorary Registrar and Research Fellow to Dr. Roger Williams at the Liver Unit, Kings College Hospital, London from 1973-74. He has been on the faculty of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and was Director of the Gastroenterology Division at the Medical University of South Carolina before coming to UT Southwestern in 1990.