About Leana

Dr. Leana Wen is a highly respected emergency physician, public health expert, and author. Born in Shanghai, she came to the United States as an immigrant and later became a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. Her diverse early career included working as a reporter with The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and as a fellow at the World Health Organization. Leana is a frequent and recognized voice on medicine and policy. She serves as a Contributing Columnist for The Washington Post, where she writes twice a week on public health, and is a Medical Analyst for CNN. She is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a clinical associate professor at George Washington University. Her commitment to public health was clear during her time as the Health Commissioner for Baltimore City (2014-2018). In this role, she led efforts to fight the opioid epidemic, improve maternal and child health, and treat violence as a public health crisis. Leana is the author of two acclaimed books: When Doctors Don’t Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests, which was inspired by her mother’s illness, and her memoir, Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health (2021). Her advocacy for radical transparency in medicine and her leadership in public health have earned her recognition as one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.