Amber Leis, MD, a plastic hand surgery specialist, joins the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery as an associate professor. She will be stepping into the role of plastic surgery residency program director, having previously led the residency program at University of California Irvine for five years.
“Amber Leis is an accomplished surgical educator and mentor,” says Justin Sacks, MD, MBA, Sydney M. Jr. and Robert H. Shoenberg Chair in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and chief of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. “As part of our faculty, she will expand educational opportunities within our division, our department and our medical school. With Dr. Leis, we are taking plastic surgery education to another level.”
Leis earned her medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. She completed plastic surgery residency training at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, California, and orthopedic hand surgery fellowship training at University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles. She spent the first 10 years of her career at UC Irvine, where in addition to her role as the residency program director, she also served as division chief of plastic hand surgery.
Leis holds certifications for both surgery of the hand and plastic surgery. She also has active memberships in many professional organizations, including the American College of Surgeons, American Society of Reconstructive Microsurgeons, and American Society for Surgery of the Hand. She serves on the Annual Meeting Educational Program Committee for the American Association of Hand Surgery and American Society of Plastic Surgery. She is a founder of the PREPPED program for URM students to excel in sub-internships. She is an ACGME RRC member for Plastic Surgery, an oral board examiner, and inservice examination question writer. She has been a PSF visiting professor for the American Society of Plastic Surgery and is the visiting fellow for the American Society of Peripheral Nerve this year.
Leis’s contributions to research in the field of hand surgery have been extensive, having published research in journals including Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and The Journal of Hand Surgery. She has received funding for research into novel treatments for Dupuytren’s contracture. Her primary interests are in brachial plexus birth injury and congenital hand differences, as well as surgical education.
“I am thrilled to be joining an organization who embraces excellence in education, and who understands the power of collaboration across disciplines. There is so much we can accomplish together.”
The Department of Surgery welcomes Amber Leis, MD, FACS, to the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.