| Leslie Dean grew up in the Chicago area,
and she graduated from Bates in 1977 magna cum laude and Phi Beta
Kappa with a degree in chemistry. She was on the dean's list all
four years and was elected to the Bates Key, now part of the
College Key. A recipient of the Milton Lindholm Scholar-Athlete
Award her senior year, she received letters in varsity field hockey
and badminton and participated in women's track and lacrosse. She
served on the Athletic Advisory Council and was a member of the
Lawrance Chemical Society. Before medical school, Dean worked as a
serologist at the Northern Illinois Police Crime Lab. She earned
her M.D. degree in 1985 from the University of Chicago and served
an internship with the University of Chicago Hospital. Before
joining AFOC, she was affiliated with a medical practice in
Atlanta, Ga. Leslie is a hand surgeon with the Anchorage (Alaska)
Fracture and Orthopedic Clinic, with a practice limited to hand,
wrist and forearm. Her professional bio says that when she joined
AFOC in 1995, she brought skills to the state that enabled injuries
that previously required emergency trips to the lower 48 states to
be treated locally. These services include "re-plantation of
severed fingers and even the reconstruction of functional hands
through the creation of fingers from transplanted toes." Dean's
skills include microvascular reconstruction and reconnecting
microscopic nerves and blood vessels. She treats numerous cases of
hand and wrist trauma, hand deformities, carpal tunnel syndrome,
and wrist pain. Dean formerly was chair of orthopedics at
Providence Alaska Medical Center, president of the Anchorage
Medical Society, secretary and treasurer of the Alaska State
Orthopedic Society, and affiliate professor/team physician for the
University of Alaska at Anchorage. In addition to her professional
activities, Dean has volunteered for religious and social service
organizations. In the 1990s she spent a week with Flying Doctors,
which does medical missions in poverty-stricken areas of the United
States, Central America, and the Caribbean. In her free time Leslie
participates in road– and mountain biking, kayaking,
canoeing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, snow machining, and
competing in 25K cross-country ski events, women’s triathlons
and charitable fund-raising runs and walks. She also is a volunteer
for the Iditarod sled dog races as a starting line dog handler.
Leslie is happily married to Donald D. Hopwood, who is a superior
court judge. They live in Anchorage, Alaska, where they enjoy
University of Alaska at Anchorage hockey, as well as the performing
arts at the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra. For her devotion to
academic excellence, dedication to the medical profession, and
passion for lifelong physical activity and sport, we are honored to
welcome Leslie Dean, Class of 1977, into the membership of the
Bates Scholar-Athlete Society. |
Still active in many sports, hand surgeon helps underserved
regions
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