Dr. Leeper is a vascular biologist and cardiologist interested in atherosclerosis and aneurysm disease. His laboratory pursues these conditions with a combination of translational approaches from the fields of human genetics, molecular biology, and murine models of vascular disease. His team hopes to translate their findings from bench to bedside to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease. A specific example of their work centers on their recent discovery of the role of efferocytosis (the phagocytic clearance of apoptotic debris) in the heritable component of atherosclerosis. Dr. Leeper also serves as the Chief of Vascular Medicine and directs the Vascular Medicine Translational Research Program at Stanford University, which works towards targeting these processes in humans with cardiovascular disease.