Rate My Professor Anna Lee

Anna Lee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Medical School. She earned her B.S. in Pharmacology from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and her Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Toronto in Canada. Following her doctoral training, she completed postdoctoral work with Dr. Robert Messing at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco. After a brief period at the University of Texas at Austin, she joined the University of Minnesota as an Assistant Professor in 2015, where she established her laboratory. In June 2021, she was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. She serves as Director of Graduate Studies for the Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics (MPaT) graduate program and is faculty in the Graduate Program in Neuroscience. Additionally, she participates in the Graduate Programs Council.

Dr. Lee's research elucidates the molecular basis of behavior, with a focus on mechanisms mediating alcohol and nicotine addiction, including co-addiction. Her work examines nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and their subtypes in reward and aversion processes, cholinergic regulation of alcohol aversion, sex-dependent regulation of nAChR gene expression, and the abuse liability of electronic cigarette liquids. She employs transgenic mouse models, viral manipulations, pharmacological tools, and behavioral assays. Key publications include Pawaskar et al. (2025) on flavor compounds in e-cigarette liquids enhancing nicotine consumption in mice (Nicotine Tob Res); Gao et al. (2023) on nAChR subunit expression in ventral tegmental area and locus coeruleus neurons (Eur J Neurosci); Moen and Lee (2021) on sex differences in the nAChR system impacting nicotine and alcohol reward (Front Neurosci); and Touchette et al. (2018) on sazetidine-A reducing alcohol consumption without affecting nicotine intake (Neuropharmacology). The Lee Lab has trained multiple PhD graduates, including Sarah Mulloy (2024, now postdoctoral fellow at Vanderbilt), Margot DeBaker (2022), and Janna Moen (postdoctoral fellow at Yale), as well as MS students and post-baccalaureates who advanced to further training or industry positions.