Leslie Leinwand, PhD

Leslie Leinwand, PhD

Leslie Leinwand, PhD

Professor, Chief Scientific Officer Biofrontiers Institute, University of Colorado at Boulder

An expert in cardiovascular research, Leinwand is principal investigator of a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Grant and National Institutes of Health Cardiovascular Training Grant. She established and co-directs the University of Colorado’s Cardiovascular Research Institute (CU-CVI), a collaborative group of physicians, molecular biologists and geneticists. The team works to integrate research and clinical applications, as well as initiate effective treatment programs and preventive therapies.

“I believe that the Global Down Syndrome Foundation is poised to make a difference in the lives of people with Down syndrome through its support of basic and clinical research,” Leinwand says. “Research in Down syndrome is under-funded and tools are now available to make fundamental advances in understanding the mechanisms that result in the many challenges faced by people with Down syndrome that should in turn, lead to improvements in their lives. I am committed to these efforts as a scientist and friend to the Down syndrome community.”

Leinwand has authored more than 248 scientific publications. She founded a biotechnology company, Myogen, which recently sold to Gilead Pharmaceuticals, that conducts clinical trials on heart medications. She is the former director of the Colorado Initiative for Molecular Biotechnology, served as the interim director of the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome and is the Chief Scientific Officer for the Biofrontiers Institute at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Leinwand received her Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, her PhD from Yale University and did post-doctoral training at Rockefeller University.