Fred Levin, M.D.

B.S. Applied Biology 1972

2026 Distinguished Alumni Award Winner

School of Biological Sciences

Born a few blocks away from Georgia Tech, Fred Levin also attended elementary and high schools just a few miles away from campus. Excelling in chemistry and math, he was counseled to study chemical engineering. After two years as a chemical engineering major, he transferred to the School of Biology and graduated Phi Kappa Phi. He earned his medical degree at the Medical College of Georgia in 1976; then completed his residency in internal medicine at Tulane University School of Medicine, followed by a fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Returning to Atlanta in 1981, Dr. Levin opened his practice in Rockdale County, where there was a need for his specialty.

He opened his office in Conyers with one employee. At the time of his retirement in 2018, there were four offices, two endoscopy centers, five physicians, and 30 employees from Conyers and Covington to Lake Oconee. Dr. Levin served as chief of staff at Rockdale Medical Center (now Piedmont Rockdale) and credentials chairman of Newton Medical Center (now Piedmont Newton) and held several other positions during his years of practice. In addition to being an adjunct professor at Mercer School of Pharmacy and Advanced Cardiac Life Support instructor, he served on numerous boards of local and state societies. Fred was elected president of the Newton-Rockdale Medical Society in 1987 and president of the Georgia Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Society in 1998. After serving on the advisory board of the Georgia Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation for many years, Dr. Levin received the Premier Physician Award in 2000. At Georgia Tech, he serves on the College of Sciences Advisory Board.

How did Georgia Tech prepare you for a successful career?:

Georgia Tech was a most daunting and challenging experience for an 18-year-old coddled high school graduate. From the 850-page calculus text and the 1130-page organic chemistry tome to the mandatory drown-proofing and gymnastics courses, I developed a drive and determination to succeed. These skills I acquired carried me through medical school and residency, including the challenging setting of Charity Hospital of New Orleans and its rural satellites, where I found myself with little supervision. One course at Tech offered extra credit if the student took on a community service. After finding three willing Atlanta private practice physicians, a colleague and I established a free Techwood medical clinic which remained open several months after the course was completed. The three physicians were all gastroenterologists, one of whom asked me to join his Northside practice after I completed my training. Tech also allowed me to work for the Atlanta Urban Core. In the summer between my junior and senior year, eight other college students and I helped fulfill a U.S. Park Ranger’s dream of running an overnight camp for inner-city youngsters in a firebreak within Kennesaw Battlefield National Park.