UMSL alums Jake and Leah Amir combined their distinct skill sets to found their company VantageLinks, which delivers solutions in health care. (Photo by Derik Holtmann)
Jake’s Hometown: Kiryat Ono, Israel
Leah’s Hometown: High Ridge, Missouri
Jake’s Degree: BS in information systems, 1983
Leah’s Degree: MS in molecular biology and physiology, 1980
Jake’s Current Position: Vice president, strategic relations for VantageLinks
Leah’s Current Position: President and CEO of VantageLinks; executive director for the Institute for Quality Resource Management
Fun Fact: The Amirs have three dogs – one Weimaraner and two Doberman Pinschers, including a rare Doberman bred to be white.
Jake and Leah Amir have each built thriving careers based on the knowledge gained and lessons learned while earning their degrees at UMSL. And even though their fields of study were very different – Leah pursued her thirst for science and medical research, while Jake studied information systems – they found a way to successfully intertwine their careers while raising their four now-grown kids.
Leah founded her own health care consulting company, Institute for Quality Resource Management, in 1997, and works with clients across the globe. “As a scientist and health care economist, I provide cost-effectiveness analysis and outcomes analysis on new medical procedures across the spectrum of health care, whether it’s cardiology, ortho- pedics, neuro or OBGYN,” she says. “With the information I then negotiate with Medicare and other commercial medical payers to present the clinical benefit of a particular proce- dure, vaccine or drug to the target population. I apply the science I learned at UMSL every day of my life.”
Jake sold the company he founded, Data Management Consultants, in 1999 and stayed on with Modis in upper management roles for over five years. He found his passion for technology soon after enrolling at UMSL.
“When I took my first class in computer programming, I fell in love with it, and I knew that was going to be my area,” he says. “I got a job working as what they called a ‘debugger’ at the computer center, which was a great experience, learning to solve all the different problems students had.”
In 2006 – the same year they celebrated 17 years of marriage – Leah and Jake started their own company, VantageLinks. The company combines both of their skill sets, leveraging Jake’s tech expertise to help Leah deliver solutions in health care.
“Because we already did a lot of work together in software development – when I had a need with my medical research, his team would create software to meet that need – we created our company,” Leah says. “We also do recruiting, staffing and software development with the idea of helping our clients link their quality with our end result.”
Working with her IQRM clients, Leah regularly buys large, raw data sets from Medicare to analyze disease outcomes and costs. She conveys to Jake and his team exactly what she’s looking for, and they create the methods and queries to sort through the millions of records to find the relevant subsets of information. But oftentimes, they’re focused on their individual specialties within the company.
“Our roles have become more defined over the years,” Leah says. “He can go on a path that’s completely different than mine, but when there’s something to consider at a strategic level, we’ll sit down together and come up with a plan.”
This story was originally published in the fall 2025 issue of UMSL Magazine. If you have a story idea for UMSL Magazine, email magazine@umsl.edu.
