Dr. Irene Freed completed her MBBCh at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2008 and began her internship at Tygerberg Hospital in the Western Cape. She served her community service year at Saldanha Sickbay, working for the military. It was during this time in 2011 that she discovered her passion for ophthalmology while volunteering at an outreach ophthalmic clinic at Vredenburg Provincial Hospital under the guidance of ocular oncologist Dr Karen Lecouna of the University of Cape Town.

In 2012, she commenced her medical officer tenure at St John’s Eye Hospital in Johannesburg and joined the registrar training program at the same hospital in 2014. She received training under renowned Professors Grant McLaren (glaucoma, oculoplastics, and orbital surgery), Trevor Carmichael (corneal specialist), and Ismail Mayet (pediatric ophthalmologist and retinal surgeon). She became a fellow ophthalmologist at the College of Medicine of South Africa in 2017 and began private practice in 2018.

Dr Freed has completed advanced courses in the administration of botulinum toxin and fillers, which she has been successfully administering since 2011. She is also interested in optimizing the medical management of diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and all causes of choroidal neovascular membranes.

She is married to Robert Mark Leibrandt, a specialist physician and cardiologist, and is the mother of two boys. Her family enjoys outdoor activities.

Dr Freed has a keen eye for detail. When she is not using it to perfect her microsurgery, she uses it in the world of art, enjoying pastel, charcoal, and human-form painting.