Dennis K. Ledford

Dennis Ledford is the Ellsworth and Mabel Simmons Professor of Allergy and Immunology at the Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, and the Section Chief of Allergy/Immunology at the James A. Haley VA Hospital, Tampa, Florida. He received his medical degree from the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences and there completed his internal medicine residency and served as chief medical resident for Dr. Gene Stollerman. A fellowship in rheumatology and immunology followed at New York University and Bellevue Hospital in New York and a fellowship in allergy and immunology at the University of South Florida. Dr. Ledford joined the faculty at USF Morsani College of Medicine and achieved the rank of professor of medicine in 2000. 

Clinical responsibilities and student and resident teaching are combined with research interests in molecular identification of pollen, microRNA in nasal disease, and severe, corticosteroid-dependent asthma and with medical writing and editing. He is a partner in Academic Allergy Asthma and Immunology Associates of Tampa Bay along with Richard F. Lockey MD, Mark C. Glaum, MD PhD, Seong Cho MD, and Amber Pepper MD. Local and regional activities include past service as President of the Medical Faculty for the Morsani COM USF and President of the Florida Allergy Asthma and Immunology Society and current section chief allergy/immunology at the James A Haley VA Hospital. 

Dr. Ledford has received the John H. McGovern Award from the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology and the Hal Davidson Award and Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southeastern Allergy Asthma and Immunology Society. He is past governor of Region 3 of the Federation of Regional State and Local Allergy Asthma and Immunology Societies. 

National contributions include prior service as an associate editor of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and an editorial board of the Annals of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology In Practice. He was prior chair of the Steering Committee for the Allergy Asthma and Immunology Education and Research Trust Fund (AAAAI Foundation), President of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, co-chair of the ACGME Allergy/Immunology Residency Review Committee, co-chair of the Conjoint AAAAI/ACAAI Board Review for Allergy/Immunology, and a Director of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology. 

He received the outstanding teaching faculty by the medical house-staff in 1985, the Hillsborough County Medical Volunteer of the Year 2001, the Distinguished Clinician Award by the AAAAI in 2014 and the World Allergy Organization in 2015; and he was awarded the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award by the graduating medical school class in 2015. Dr. Ledford was chair of the Professionalism in Medical School Initiative Task Force for USF Morsani College of Medicine in 2014-2015. He was elected to the Barness/Behnke Chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society in 2015. The University of South Florida honored him in 2018 with the Distinguished Service Award.

Dr. Ledford is currently married to Jennifer Shelton Ledford for 46 years and has 3 sons and 11 grandchildren.