Jonathan D. Leff

Jonathan Leff, MD, FASE, is Chief, Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology, Co-Director, Montefiore Einstein Center for Heart and Vascular Care, Vice Chair, Professional Affairs and Professor, Anesthesiology and Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery at Montefiore Einstein. Dr. Leff is an accomplished cardiothoracic anesthesiologist with expertise in echocardiography, heart failure, coagulopathy, and blood management. Dr. Leff uses cardiovascular ultrasound in the operating room to provide real-time cardiac assessments that assist with intraoperative surgical decision making. He has also been a leader in the design and implementation of Montefiore Medical Center’s Enhanced Recovery after Surgery process for cardiac procedures, which is a patient-centered and multidisciplinary initiative to optimize surgical outcomes.

In 1995, Dr. Leff received his Bachelor of Arts at University of Colorado. He went on to earn his Doctor of Medicine at the University of Guadalajara at Guadalajara, Mexico in 1999. Dr. Leff then came to Einstein for his postgraduate training, completing his surgery internship in 2002, his anesthesiology residency in 2005, and his cardiothoracic fellowship in 2006. In 2015, he completed Leadership Development for Physicians in Academic Health Centers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Dr. Leff is involved in a variety of research projects and has published his work in the areas of remote patient monitoring, risk factors for COVID-19 mortalities, and methods to predict and reduce perioperative bleeding. He served as the Primary Investigator for Montefiore Medical Center in the largest randomized transfusion study for cardiac surgery. Currently, Dr. Leff is the site Principal Investigator for an NIH-sponsored clinical trial testing the effectiveness of two transfusion strategies for cardiac surgery patients 65 years of age and under. He has shared his work through peer-reviewed journals, books, and national and international conferences.

Dr. Leff is board certified in Anesthesiology and Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography. His skill and reputation in cardiovascular ultrasound earned him the prestigious designation as a Fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography. He is a member of several professional societies including the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists and the Association of Cardiac Anesthesiologists