He was born in Los Angeles, California. He graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Occidental College with Distinction in Biochemistry. He attended medical school at the University of California, Irvine. For six years after medical school, Dr. Lander studied General Surgery and then Urologic Surgery at the University of California, Irvine. He was a Clinical Assistant Professor of Urology at the same institution while in practice at a large HMO in Orange County for five years. During that time he was active in teaching residents and doing research. He has many publications in the urologic literature.