Kristen T. Leeman, MD ’06
September 1, 2023 – The UVA Medical Alumni Association is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2023 MD Early Achievement Award: Kristen T. Leeman, MD ’06.
Leeman graduated from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, completing her pediatric residency at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and fellowship at the Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Program, where she served as chief fellow during her final year of training. She currently is faculty at Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH), assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, a physician-scientist, and education-focused neonatologist. At BCH, she is the associate medical director of the NICU, director of quality for the Division of Newborn Medicine, and the patient safety and quality graduate medical education (GME) lead, providing authentic leadership both in clinical operations, quality improvement and safety research, and trainee education.
Since 2019, Leeman has also served as the program director for the Harvard Neonatal Perinatal Fellowship Program and leads the complex fellowship infrastructure across four Harvard hospitals with an unwavering commitment to fellow education in both clinical medicine and scholarly training. She was awarded Faculty “Honor Roll” recognition in 2021 and 2022 for her dedication to trainee education and also the 2021 Merton Bernfield Excellence in Mentorship Award. Leeman was also awarded BCH’s inaugural John Cloherty Award for excellence in clinical teaching. She been recognized on the national level for expertise in trainee career development and mentorship through invited talks focused on mentorship and also election to serve as co-chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Women In Medicine Career Development Group.
In her roles at BCH, Leeman has focused on motivating teams through listening and building trust, demonstrating sound judgment in decision making, and ensuring quality is a key focus through all operations. She was recently selected to be part of the BCH Emerging Physician Leadership Program to gain additional skills related to executive leadership and hospital operations. Leeman has received multiple grants for her QI and safety work and published her work in high impact journals.
Leeman also has an impressive background in clinical excellence, research and innovation in severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Her background includes basic science discoveries bridging lung stem cell biology and bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and she has been awarded an NIH Child Health Research Center K12 grant, a Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Young Investigator Grant, a NIH Loan Repayment Award and Renewal, and a BCH Career Development grant. She has transitioned to clinical translational research and has been the PI on multiple funded clinical research projects focused on improving the care for BPD.
Congratulations to Dr. Leeman on this well-deserved recognition.