2016 News, Events and Team Milestones
12/10/2016- Leeper Lab 2016 Holiday Party
The Leeper lab article "CD47-blocking antibodies restore phagocytosis and prevent atherosclerosis" published in the journal Nature highlights an experimental anticancer drug that may also prevent atherosclerosis.
Dr. Nick Leeper is quoted in the Summer 2016 Strive, thrive, and take five | Stanford Magazine article, "Inflammation Implication" by Bruce Goldman. Dr. Leeper discuss his research, that was recently published in the journal Nature, on inflammation and how it can play a factor in chronic disease such as heart disease, stroke, and autoimmunity.
The Leeper Lab study published in Nature is described in "Experimental anticancer drug may tackle heart disease, too" by Kelly Servick in the July 20, 2016 online article in www.sciencemag.org
7/30/2016 - 1st Annual Leeper Lab Retreat 2016
6/3/16 - Dan Direnzo receives an AHA post-doctoral fellowship
Congratulations to Dan Direnzo, who received an American Heart Association post-doctoral fellowship to study the genetic determinants of SMC plasticity
4/6/16 - UAR Grant Decision For 2015-2016 Major Grants
Sophia Xiao has received a Stanford UAR Major Grant to study the role of blood vessel maturation in Cdkn2b knockout mice. Congratulations Sophia!
3/30/16 - Keep tobacco products away from children
3/21/16 - A Heartfelt Return: Joe's Heart Transplant Story
Surfer and college rugby player Joe Matthews was a model for health and well-being. No one could ever have predicted that the 19-year-old would soon be diagnosed with idiopathic cardiomyopathy—heart failure from unknown cause. Within the span of a few weeks, he went from active and fit to fighting for his life.
After Matthews felt unusually short of breath during a rugby game, an examination revealed Matthews had two common symptoms of heart failure: fluid-filled lungs and an enlarged heart. His doctor transferred him to Stanford to have a heart defibrillator implanted to control his heart's irregular beat rhythm.
The last step of that procedure was to test the defibrillator's ability to control his heart rhythm. Almost immediately, his heart stopped beating and he was rushed into emergency surgery. This time, doctors installed a mechanical pump called a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to get his heart pumping again and keep it that way.
Matthews awoke to learn that even the pump would note be enough: He needed a new heart. A few weeks later, he received a transplanted heart through the Stanford Heart Transplant Program, the site of the first adult heart transplant in the U.S.
That was in April of 2006. Today, he's a model of transplant patient fitness and winner of many medals in track and field at the World Transplant Games. When he's not training for competitions, he’s an avid cyclist. He's even playing rugby again. Matthews is also enjoying life as a newlywed.
Since Matthews' transplant, Stanford doctors have continued to research the causes of heart failure, including the use of genetic testing to diagnose the disease. Stanford cardiologist Nicholas Leeper, MD, who oversaw Matthews' care while at Stanford, is impressed by his progress.
Watch as Joe Matthews returns to the place where his transplanted heart gave him new life. The full story