Mike Leon Spotlight
April 28, 2023
Mike Leon is a competitive person, and whether it be in weightlifting or in his career, he has learned to use that drive to draw out the best in himself and others. As the coordinator for the Masters of Science in Biomedical Imaging (MSBI) graduate program at UCSF, Mike’s past experience in special education, physical training, and healthcare combine to make him a helpful, involved resource for students in the program.
Mike joined the Radiology Education team in August 2021, and in his role as coordinator, manages online learning systems that allow students to access syllabi, coursework, and tests. He also organizes student orientation and plans events, but most importantly, he checks in often with each of the students to ensure they have everything they need. This is especially important for international students who often encounter additional hurdles of unfamiliarity.
Sometimes this help comes in small ways. Students at China Basin need help to connect their laptops to the printer. Sometimes it is the reassurance of being someone a student knows to call when they are stuck in traffic on the San Mateo bridge at 7 am and are very worried about missing class on test day. Mike sees these kinds of reassurances as an important part of the job, “I can be a point of contact. Sometimes it is like herding cats, but if they feel they can trust me and relate to me, then I am helping them.”
Mike is also the Patient Navigator for the PSMA PET scan procedure, working with prostate cancer patients who are referred to UCSF, which is one of two FDA-approved sites for this procedure. He also works with Alastair Martin, PhD, Associate Chair for Capital Projects, as a liaison to equipment vendors who service the department’s inpatient and outpatient imaging facilities.
Mike’s entire career has been involved in education in different ways, long before arriving here at UCSF. After graduating college, he went into special education for three years. Following that he was a weightlifting coach and personal trainer, using his degree in kinesiology to help people achieve their fitness targets safely and with a goal of self-sufficiency. From there, he transferred his physical training experience to Briotix Health where he was responsible for training and certifying UCSF nurses to use patient lift equipment without the risk of injury.
While working with Briotix Health and making frequent trips to UCSF, the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging caught his eye. “I had a friend here within radiology, and so sometimes during my break I would go visit them and I would see the radiology department on the administrative side. I saw what a welcoming and loving little community they had, and I thought, ‘This is awesome.’”
Mike’s experience in training, education, and healthcare made him an excellent fit as MSBI coordinator, but it is his mindset that makes him great. His core philosophy is very simple, “Always treat others how you want to be treated.” As someone with a competitive nature, as a younger man, patience was sometimes a challenge, but Mike found lessons in his work which have helped him grow and channel his competitiveness into helping others. He credits his special education experience for giving him useful methods to redirect frustration and focus energy towards productive goals, and to teach others to do the same.
“During the hard times, when you’re having a bad day, if you focus on treating others how you want to be treated, then it always ends up being a good day after all. That’s how I feel. No matter who you’re working with, they want to develop and grow too, because they probably don't like the emotions or the feelings that they're experiencing.”
Mike’s work takes him between China Basin where the MSBI program is based and the education offices at Parnassus. He appreciates all his co-workers, noting that, “I love my team, they’re super supportive and always help me with every kind of communication and scheduling.” But above all else he gives special thanks to his program directors, Alastair Martin, PhD, Program Director for MSBI, and Susan Noworolski, PhD, Director of Graduate Studies for MSBI, who he knows to be very communicative and capable of ensuring the entire team is always a little bit ahead of schedule.
The constantly refreshing nature of education, especially in a one-year program, is an engaging challenge for Mike. “I always get a different group of students every year, and I love working with all the different personalities.” From the first week of orientation, he has the opportunity to make connection and a lasting relationship, “You try and find one little thing you can connect on. It might be a fun fact, or something you like. It might seem like odd conversation starters, like the one student who eats a dozen eggs every single day, but it is an important exercise to gain trust and establish a connection.”
Outside of work, Mike describes himself as a hobbyist weightlifter and a self-taught “terrible mechanic.” He spent years as a competitive weightlifter, competing in 2 different Olympic-style weightlifting events: the snatch and the clean jerk. Beginning in 2011, he entered the sport and in both Bay Area competitions and on the national stage.
During the pandemic, as everything closed down, Mike decided that the time had come to learn how to do all his own work on his Ford Focus turbo. The reward for every job that YouTube assured him would take 30 minutes to an hour, but somehow took three to five times that long, is a beautiful drive down Highway 1, feeling his car hug the corners with grip and precision. For someone born and raised in the Bay Area who loves the sensation of mastering a challenge through control and understanding, there is nothing better.