Joseph Leach

Joseph Leach, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He holds positions in the School of Medicine and specializes in Abdominal Imaging and Ultrasound. His research focuses on the biomechanics and imaging of vascular diseases, particularly abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA).

Education: PhD (2009) in Bioengineering from the UCSF-UC Berkeley program, MD (2013) from UCSF School of Medicine, residency in Diagnostic Radiology (2018), and a clinical fellowship in Abdominal Imaging/Ultrasound (2019), all at UCSF. He completed an NIH T32 Research Fellowship (2017–2018) focusing on patient-specific AAA biomechanics.

Research Interests: Leach’s work integrates advanced imaging techniques with biomechanical analysis to study AAA progression, wall stress, and clinical outcomes. His studies emphasize translational applications in vascular disease diagnostics and treatment.

Publications: Over 40 peer-reviewed articles, including studies on wall stress prediction of mortality, sex differences in aortic growth, and MRI-based aneurysm monitoring. His work spans journals like Interdisciplinary Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Radiology, and Circulation.

Awards: 2018 Margulis Society Outstanding Resident Research Award and CVSA Early Career Investigator Award finalist.

Grants: Principal investigator on an RSNA grant (2018–2020) for combined MRI and biomechanical analysis of AAA progression.

Labs/Teams: Active in UCSF’s Vascular Imaging and Biomechanics research group, collaborating on projects involving 3D printing, computational modeling, and clinical trial design.