Phyllis Zee is the Chief of Sleep Medicine in the Department of Neurology, as well as Benjamin and Virginia T. Boshes Professor of Neurology at Northwestern Medicine. She is also the Director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Zee is the founder of the first circadian medicine clinic in the US, where innovative treatments are available for patients with circadian rhythm disorders. Her research is mainly focused on circadian rhythm disorders, insomnia, nocturnal seizures, parsomnias, restless leg, sleep apnea, sleep disorders, snoring and increased upper airways.

Zee is a Member of the NIH National Heart Lung and Blood Advisory Council. She is the recipient of the 2011 American Academy of Neurology Sleep Science Award and the 2014 American Academy of Sleep Medicine academic honor, the William C. Dement Academic Achievement Award.