Ira L. Leeds, MD, MBA, ScM, FACS, FASCRS

Scott R. Steele, MD, MBA, FACS, FASCRS, FPSCRS (Hon.)

Dr. Ira L. Leeds is a Staff Colon and Rectal Surgeon and Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the Yale School of Medicine at Yale University in New Haven, CT. Ira was born and raised in Atlanta, GA, and Miami, FL, spending holidays and summers in his dad's small business' mailroom and washing boats at the marina to motivate him to “stay in school.” Ira attended Princeton University for his undergraduate degree in Politics. He then went on to serve as a Teach For America Corps Member in Memphis, TN, for 2 years before matriculating at Emory University for medical school. While in medical school, he added an extra-year deferral to read for an MBA at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. After medical school graduation, he went to The Johns Hopkins Hospital for a residency in general surgery. While at Hopkins, he found another diversion and obtained an ScM in Clinical Investigation at Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health with additional certifications in Quality, Patient Safety and Outcomes Research, Health Finance and Management, and Public Health Economics. Ira then came to join us for a year in Cleveland during his colorectal surgery fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic, prior to going to Yale, where he has practiced ever since.

Ira is a busy clinical surgeon and loves meeting all kinds of people, especially at their most vulnerable where he can offer them help. He also really enjoys the instant reward that surgical therapy can bring with improving the underlying condition. Colorectal surgery also allows him to experience something different every day—from the operating room to endoscopy, as well as the clinic and the research lab. His clinical and research interests are in complex colorectal disease with a growing reoperative inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-oriented practice. He has multiple peer-reviewed publications and has given multiple lectures regionally, nationally, and internationally in our field.

He and his wife have two young daughters (Eleanor and Louisa). Ira has proffered chess and yardwork as family activities but more typically ends up sampling baked goods (Eleanor) and searching the house for chocolate (Louisa). His wife, Sandy, is a tremendous athlete, competing in multiple run, triathlon, and Ironman competitions, for both of them. They also have an Italian water dog (Rosie) who is a constant companion with the family. Outside of medicine, he enjoys traveling, including camping in the Italian Alps, mastering 30-minute meals, and experimenting with grass grown in a northern climate.

On a personal note, Ira may be one of the smartest people I have ever met. It has been wonderful to watch him evolve from a fellow into an emerging thought leader and researcher in colorectal surgery in such a rapid time. On behalf of the readers and staff of Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery, I want to sincerely thank Dr. Leeds for serving as a Guest Editor and for providing us with an incredible issue on “Preventing and Managing Rare Complications in Colorectal Surgery.”

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
03. April 2025