N. Douglas Lees is professor and chair of biology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). He received his undergraduate degree in biology from Providence College and his Ph.D. in biological sciences from Northwestern University. Upon arriving at IUPUI in the early 1970s, he began a journey of simultaneous career and institution building. He began a journey of simultaneous carrier and institution building. He has witnessed and participated in the conversion of a pair of two-year feeder campuses into an urban research university that will serve as a model for the future.
His personal research has focused on sterol biosynthesis in fungi with an interest in identifying new targets for the development of antifungal drugs. Since being named chair in 1992, he has developed interests in chair leadership and several other difficult issues facing higher education in this current era of change. Away from the office, Doug and his wife Stephanie are occupied with raising and educating their four children, who range in age from 13 to 24.