Yale Urology’s First Female Professor

“An exemplary role model.” “Inspirational.” “A superb surgeon and academic clinician.” "Excellent scholar."

These are just some ways leaders and colleagues have described the career, impact, and recent promotion of Leslie M. Rickey, MD, MPH. In September, she was officially given full professor designation at Yale, the first woman in the Department of Urology to achieve this rank.

“Dr. Rickey's promotion is a testament to her nationally and internationally recognized expertise in female pelvic medicine and urogynecology,” says Harris E. Foster Jr, MD, Yale Urology’s lower urinary tract dysfunction and reconstruction division chief.

Rickey herself gives kudos to friends and family, especially her husband Jay whom she calls her “greatest cheerleader.” She also points to support from “an amazing group of faculty and colleagues” in the three urology departments where she has been for her training and career: first Loyola, and then the University of Maryland and Yale.

According to national studies, achieving full professor status – both in general and within urology - is no small feat for female faculty members. An analysis published in JAMA in 2022 shows that females comprise only 27.1% of all full professors across specialties at academic medical schools. That number shrinks to just under 11% when looking at more recent statistics in urology alone.

“Congratulations are in order!” says Toby C. Chai, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Urology at Boston University.

Chai, who was farther south at the time, recruited Rickey to join the University of Maryland's urology faculty after completing her urogynecology reconstructive surgery fellowship at Loyola in 2007. Rickey served as an assistant professor for six years before joining Chai at Yale in 2013.

“Yale was the beneficiary when I couldn't convince her to join me at Boston University [in 2019],” Chai chuckles.

“As one of only a handful of women with both urology and urogynecology training, she was heavily recruited,” says her fellowship mentor, Professor Linda Brubaker, MD, now at UC San Diego.

“We are most certainly benefitting from Dr. Rickey’s decision to be part of Yale Urology faculty,” says Professor and Chair Isaac Kim, MD, PhD, MBA. “She has been an engaged, integral leader in our department, medical school, and university. I’ve always appreciated her expertise and commitment, as well as her humility in caring for patients while representing Yale on the national and international stage.”

Clinically, Rickey’s practice focuses on the treatment of female pelvic floor disorders, including urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, and pelvic organ prolapse. She performs treatments ranging from non-surgical and office-based procedures to minimally invasive surgery.

She is in her fourth year as vice chair of faculty affairs for the department and has been the fellowship director for the Yale Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery program since 2014. Rickey has also been a principal investigator in the National Institutes of Health’s Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms [PLUS] research consortium for nearly a decade.

“We are so fortunate to have her sound and judicious perspective on patient care and dedication to our fellows’ needs and interests,” says Oz Harmanli, MD, urogynecology and pelvic reconstruction division chief for Yale Ob/Gyn.

“As a longtime colleague, I see her achievement as a proud moment for us all to celebrate,” says Foster.

“I especially celebrate how she has lived her values of kindness, generosity, and family,” shares Brubaker.

“I expect to see more great things from her in the future," adds Chai.

Rickey admits she is a little embarrassed at the accolades but considers the attention worth it if it helps others.

“I hope this achievement serves as a positive example for young women interested in urology of what we can accomplish together!”