Professor of Surgery
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
USA
Leonard Y. Lee, M.D. is Professor of Surgery, the James W. Mackenzie MD Endowed Chair in Surgery, Interim Chairman of the Department of Surgery and Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, as well as Chief of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Service at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Dr. Lee received his M.D. degree from UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Camden, NJ in 1992. He completed his internship and general surgery residency at St. Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center in 1997 and his cardiothoracic surgery fellowship from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Medical College of Cornell University in 2001. In addition, he completed a two year research fellowship in cardiac gene therapy at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Medical College of Cornell University from 1997-1999. He served on the faculty of New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, for over 10 years before moving to New Jersey in 2012. Dr. Lee is board certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He is currently Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and serves on the ACC CardioSurve Research Panel and Cardiovascular Health Advisory Panel for the state of New Jersey. He is a member of numerous societies including American Association for Thoracic Surgery, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, American Heart Association, International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery, and the American Medical Association, among others. Dr. Lee also serves on numerous committees at both Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Dr. Lee serves on the Editorial Boards of Cardiology; Journal of Cardiology Research and Therapy; Heart Health-Open Access Journal; CSurgeries (surgical video journal); Journal of Experimental Cardiology and Research; and MOJ Surgery. He is also a Reviewer for Journal of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery; Annals of Thoracic Surgery and Chest. As Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Dr. Lee coordinates care on the Cardiac Surgery Service at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital which performs over 1200 cardiac surgeries per year and includes cardiac transplant, ventricular assist devices, robotic mitral valve repairs, minimally invasive valve surgery, and has grown consistently in volume over the past three years. He is nationally recognized for innovative surgical techniques and approaches to the treatment of valvular heart disease in addition to his research efforts in inflammation and stem cell therapies for cardiac repair. As Interim Chair of the Department of Surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Dr. Lee coordinates a Department of 80+ surgeons and faculty across 9 clinical divisions, incorporating 3 residency programs and 2 fellowships.
Cardiothoracic Surgery,