[3][4] Leeder was editor-in-chief of The Medical Journal of Australia until he was fired in 2015 for criticizing the decision to outsource its production to Elsevier.
[9] He attended Homebush Boys High School and the University of Sydney, where he graduated with honours in medical science in 1964; in medicine in 1966; as a Doctor of Philosophy in 1974 (his dissertation was entitled, "An epidemiological study of selected factors which may pre-dispose to chronic obstructive lung disease"), and as a Doctor of Medicine in 2006 (his dissertation was entitled, "Studies of factors that affect the lung function of children").
[10] Leeder played a role in the development of innovative medical curriculum, and was foundation director of the Asian and Pacific Centre for Clinical Epidemiology.
[10] Leeder became Professor of Community Medicine at Westmead Hospital in western Sydney in 1986, and pursued research in heart disease and health promotion.
[10] After serving for two years as head of the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of Sydney, Leeder was dean of the Medical Faculty from 1996 to 2002.
He oversaw the implementation of a new graduate educational program, decentralization of the Faculty to its schools, strategic development of research and the formation of an extensive rural-education network for medical students.
[10] After returning from New York in 2004, Leeder directed the development of the Sydney node of the Menzies Centre for Health Policy from 2006 to 2012.
[14] As more information became available, the AMPCo board had apparently rejected Leeder's advice (on behalf of the MJA's editorial staff) and not considered public concerns about Elsevier's business practices.