Helen Lee holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Melbourne. After lecturing in botany for two years at Queen's University, Belfast, she was for many years a part-time tutor in the botany departments of Melbourne and LaTrobe Universities, and a tutor with the Melbourne Council of Adult Education.

Upon retirement, she took up a position as Honorary Research Fellow in the Botany Department, LaTrobe University. Her research interests included the morphological characteristics of plants that resprout after fire, and arid zone ecology. She has been a member of the Royal Society of Victoria and the Australian Systematic Botany Society.