Ka Yee is executive vice president for Strategic Initiatives of the University of Chicago and the David Lee Shillinglaw Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Chemistry, the James Franck Institute, the Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, and the College. She conducts research in membrane biophysics and has been a UChicago faculty member since 1998. 

Ka Yee is an elected member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, a fellow of the American Physical Society, and a fellow of the Biophysical Society. Previously, she served as provost, vice provost for Research, director of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, and chair of the Faculty Advisory Board for The Hong Kong Jockey Club University of Chicago Academic Complex | The University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus in Hong Kong. 

Ka Yee’s honors include being named a Searle Scholar, a David and Lucile Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering, and a Sloan Research Fellow. She was the recipient of the Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the Arthur L. Kelly Prize for Exceptional Faculty Service in the Physical Sciences Division.