[citation needed] In the laboratory of William B. Pratt at the University of Michigan, Leach did graduate research focused on the regulation of glucocorticoid hormone action and received her Ph.
However safety concerns during prolonged usage in some patients highlighted a need for understanding the molecular basis of the toxicity in humans in order to design safer next- generation antibiotics.
[12] By showing mitochondrial protein synthesis was the link to Zyvox cytotoxicity in human cells, this research led to important advances in antibiotic safety and utilization of in vitro assays to predict in vivo toxicity.
Leach went on to conduct cross-disciplinary efforts within Pfizer using chemistry-cell biology approaches to predict safety issues in vitro, long before the drug leads were tested in animals.
Tapping into her kinase expertise in drug discovery efforts, she became a scientific liaison to the Division of Signal Transduction Therapy at the University of Dundee School of Life Sciences.