A Force On and Off the Court: Renee Lee

Renee Lee has been a standout tennis player for most of her life, competing at a high level throughout high school, college and into her adult life. Now during this pandemic, she found herself in a different type of battle — working on the COVID-19 vaccine as a Sr. Statistical Programmer at Pfizer. 

Lee works in the Statistical Programming Analysis section of Global Product Development. During the vaccine rollout, she and her team performed the statistical analysis on the data provided, then submitted the reports to regulatory agencies around the world, including the FDA. These reports helped experts determine the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, and ultimately led to the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in December. 

Her team worked seven days a week, sacrificing many nights of sleep for several months to help get this vaccine to the public.

Like many during this pandemic, Lee used tennis as an outlet to destress and take her mind off work. 

“Probably the only things that kept me sane during this time were my husband, my dogs, and tennis,” she said. 

Lee has moved a lot throughout her life, but tennis is the constant variable that helps her easily adapt to a new community. 

“You meet so many people playing tennis,” she said. “I've moved many times, and one of the first things I do is email the local USTA League Coordinator so they can get me in contact with teams. I've always found this is the fastest and easiest way to meet new people, since the tennis community is so friendly.”

Lee grew up playing tennis with her mom and brother in Holmdel, New Jersey. She played Club Tennis at Rutgers University and now plays in USTA and WTT leagues. She makes it her mission to get involved in any tennis play in the Philadelphia area, playing Tri Level, 8.0/9.0/10.0 mixed doubles, and 4.5/5.0 women's tennis.