M e d i c a l R e c o r d F e at u r e
Dr. Mira Irons, President and CEO of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia by Karen L. Chandler
Leading The College of Physicians of Philadelphia since August 2021, Mira Bjelotomich Irons, M.D., FACMGG, FAAP, FCPP, talks of her past, the journey which brought her to her current role, and her hopes for the future of The College. As the first woman leader in the College’s history, Dr. Mira Irons is inspired to bring her skills to both the organization and the surrounding area to both address current issues and share the impacts of medicine. “Women like to be collaborative,” Irons said. “We like to bring groups of people together to work together. There are many organizations in the Philadelphia area: medical schools, and hospitals, the county medical society and specialty societies, in addition to cultural institutions. Identifying ways that the College can work with some of the other groups in Philadelphia to advance their mission and convene around important issues is one thing that benefits from being able to bring people together. I’d like to be able to do that.” A Chicago native, Dr. Mira Irons was the only child of World War II refugees from the former Yugoslavia. Irons’ upbringing focused on the importance of education and the breadth of opportunities available in the United States. The emphasis on education impacted Irons’ early life, as she remained an engaged student who committed to a career as a physician during her high school years. Irons was accepted into a six-year medical program at Northwestern University, an event which decided her future. She graduated from medical school at age 23 and entered a threeyear pediatric residency at Children’s Memorial Hospital, the Northwestern pediatric program in Chicago, followed by a three-
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year fellowship in medical and biochemical genetics in Boston. Her move to Boston set in place the next thirty years of Irons’ career in medicine. The years in Boston were spent in a fellowship in Genetics at the Boston Children’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, followed by caring for patients as a pediatric geneticist at Tufts Medical Center, and a return to Boston Children’s Hospital where she served as the clinical Chief of Genetics and Metabolism. Irons also acted as program director for the Harvard Medical medical genetics and laboratory training programs, continued a busy clinical practice, and remained active in research during her time in Boston. A job opportunity arose for Irons to become the Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs at the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), the umbrella organization of medical certifying boards, and allowed Irons to move back to Chicago to be nearer to her parents. “I had participated in a lot of national leadership work in genetics and medical education, so when this opportunity came up it was really to do something different. It was to impact medical care on a national basis as opposed to only within my specialty,” Irons said. A position as the Chief Health and Science Officer for the American Medical Association followed the ABMS. Irons describes the role as giving her a deeper understanding of how to work with advocacy groups at the AMA at both the state and national levels to support physicians and help protect patients. “The pandemic hit while I was there and given my role, I became the point person to provide the necessary thought leadership with regard to the pandemic, to work with all the groups across the AMA and inform their efforts. It was COVID, 24/7, all COVID
