Leigh G. Griffiths, Ph.D., MRCVS, is a veterinary cardiologist, cardiovascular surgeon and research scientist focused on identifying and overcoming immunological barriers in organ transplantation, and leveraging such insights toward cardiovascular regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

In Dr. Griffiths' Cardiovascular Engineering Research Laboratory, his team has developed novel methods for identification of inciting causes of immune-mediated attacks toward both human-derived (for example, heart transplantation) and animal-derived (for example, heart valve replacement) tissues and organs after implantation in patients. The team then leverages this information toward development of novel, immunologically acceptable animal-derived tissue scaffolds for cardiovascular regenerative medicine and tissue engineering applications.

By combining such immunologically acceptable tissue scaffolds with the patient's own cells, Dr. Griffiths' laboratory aims to engineer new replacement tissues and organs that will be accepted as part of the patient's own body, providing lifelong function without the need for immunosuppressive therapy.