Physician Leann Lesperance, Ph.D., clinical assistant professor of pediatrics, has been named associate dean for undergraduate medical education in the College of Medicine at SUNY Upstate. The appointment, effective immediately, was announced by College of Medicine Dean Lawrence Chin. Lesperance has served as interim associate dean since August 2019.
As associate dean for undergraduate medical education, Lesperance provides guidance and oversight for all matters relating to medical student educational programs, including the development and monitoring of outcome measures for educational quality, compliance with Middle States and LCME accreditation standards, curriculum design, and support for course and clerkship directors, among other responsibilities.
Lesperance joined Upstate in 2004. During her career at Upstate, she has held numerous posts, including site director for the Binghamton pediatric clerkship (2012-2018) and associate dean for academic affairs at the Binghamton Clinical Campus. She helped to reorganize the Binghamton pediatrics clerkship to align the curriculum with that in Syracuse. She has played an active role in curriculum planning, faculty development, and student recruitment and advising, and has assisted with preparation for Middle States and LCME accreditation processes.
Lesperance holds a doctorate in medical engineering from MIT and a medical degree from Harvard Medical School. She completed her residency in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital.
After relocating from Boston to Binghamton, Lesperance practiced general pediatrics with UHS through 2007 and adolescent medicine at Binghamton University’s Decker Student Health Services Center from 2008 to 2018.
Lesperance is board certified and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She received the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Binghamton Clinical Campus in 2012.