Who We Are

Dr. Yang Jae Lee (Jae Lee) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington and an inpatient psychiatrist at Harborview Medical Center. His research focuses on developing community-centered approaches to improving mental health and well-being, particularly by mobilizing existing social structures, support networks, and community resources. A central theme of his work is that mental healthcare should extend beyond diagnosis and symptom reduction to help people recover, reconnect, and lead meaningful lives.

Since 2015, Dr. Lee has worked with communities in the Busoga region of Uganda, where he founded and serves as Chairperson and Executive Director of Empower Through Health, a nonprofit organization integrating healthcare delivery, education, and research in rural Uganda. ETH provides primary healthcare to a catchment population of approximately 70,000 people and supports district-wide psychiatric services for more than 400,000 residents. Working alongside Ugandan colleagues, community leaders, and government partners, he is building a long-term platform for developing, implementing, and evaluating locally informed approaches to improving health and social well-being.

Dr. Lee’s interdisciplinary research spans global mental health, health services research, and social medicine. His projects examine mental illness stigma and pathways to care, continuity of treatment following psychiatric hospitalization, suicide risk disclosure and support activation, and the social consequences of educational and other life disruptions. Across these areas, he is particularly interested in how medical systems can work with families, communities, and nonmedical institutions to improve recovery, social participation, and quality of life. His clinical work at Harborview informs these questions and opportunities for applying insights from Uganda to mental healthcare in the United States.

Dr. Lee also directs the Global Health Experiential Fellowship, an immersive research training program that brings Ugandan and American students together to conduct community-engaged research. The fellowship has trained more than 250 students and serves as a platform for research capacity building, cross-cultural collaboration, and academic mentorship.

Education

Psychiatry Residency, Yale University, 2021-2025
MD, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, 2017-2021
AB, Washington University in St. Louis, 2012-2016

Department Affiliations

Other Affiliations

Empower Through Health