Dr. Leah Wuescher is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, where her research explores the surprising ways platelets — cells best known for clotting blood — also help the body fight infection and regulate immune disease. Her lab investigates platelet-driven host defense against viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens, with growing projects extending into pregnancy-related infection and autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.

Dr. Wuescher earned her B.S. in Biology and Ph.D. from the University of Toledo, and has spent nearly two decades building her research program at UT COMLS, moving from bench trainee to independent principal investigator. She is especially drawn to mentorship, having guided students from high school through medical school toward independent research presentations and publications, and she views training the next generation of scientists as inseparable from her research mission.

Outside the lab, Dr. Wuescher is an active member of the American Association of Immunologists and the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, and she enjoys bringing the same curiosity she applies to science into her personal life — including as an avid reader and host of community book clubs.