Donald Peck Leslie M.D.
Dr. Leslie’s Medical Background
Dr. Leslie is the medical director emeritus of Shepherd Center and a member of the Shepherd Center Board of Directors and a Shepherd Center Foundation Trustee. He served as medical director of Shepherd Center from 2004 to 2017. Before that, he served for 10 years as associate medical director of Shepherd Center and medical director for Brain Injury Services.
A graduate of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., with a bachelor of arts and science degree, Dr. Leslie attended medical school at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. He completed his postgraduate residency training in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He then practiced at the Florence Clinic in Florence, Ala. His second residency was completed at the Emory School of Medicine in neurology and physical medicine and rehabilitation. His last stop before joining Shepherd Center in 1986 was at Stanford University PM&R in California, where he worked with Dr. Conal Wilmot.
During his time at Shepherd Center, Dr. Leslie has also served as medical director for the Atlanta Rehabilitation Institute and The Meadowbrook Rehabilitation Group. He also pursued certification in medical acupuncture at the University of California Los Angeles, where he trained with Dr. Joseph Helms at the Helms Medical Institute.
Dr. Leslie’s Accomplishments and Accolades
Dr. Leslie's list of accomplishments is staggering. He founded and co-developed Shepherd Center's Acquired Brain Injury Program, serves on many boards and is an esteemed member of many associations. Dr. Leslie is a diplomat of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and was elected a Fellow in the Academy, where he also serves as board examiner. He also serves on the Physician Advisory Board for the Medtronics Corporation in Minneapolis. His memberships include: the American Spinal Injury Association; the Atlanta Post Polio Association; the American College of Physician Executives; the Medical Association of Georgia; the Medical Association of Atlanta; the American Medical Association; the Mayo Clinic Society; the Vanderbilt Commodores Society; and the Georgia Board of Peer Review.
Dr. Leslie was recently named to U.S. News & World Report magazine's Top Doctors list released in July. The U.S. News listing indicates that he is ranked in the top 1 percent of physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians in the nation.
He has served on the Board of Directors for the Brain Injury Association of Georgia, as well as the co-medical director of the Georgia Model Brain Injury System (GAMBIS) for the TBI Model Systems Grant. Dr. Leslie even served on the Board of Directors for the Paralympics.
He has made regional, national and international presentations in the fields of brain and spinal cord injury. In addition, Dr. Leslie is a clinical professor at the Emory University School of Medicine and is chairman of rehabilitation at Piedmont Hospital.
Dr. Leslie serves on Shepherd's Research Review Committee and has served on the Shepherd Center Board of Directors since 1990. He was recently appointed as a charter member of the Shepherd Center Foundation Board. With his new appointment, Dr. Leslie will continue clinical practice as a physician for the Shepherd Center Spinal Cord Day Program. He will also serve patients in the Outpatient Program.
Dr. Leslie in the News and Media
Dr. Leslie’s interview on goals for the hospital : Shepherd Center Medical Director Talks About His Goals for the Hospital
Listen to a Shepherd Center Radio podcast featuring Dr. Leslie on How to Choose a Rehabilitation Facility for a Brain or Spinal Cord Injury.