Sigma Phi Epsilon - Stanford University

DR. TED LENG '99 ON BROTHERHOOD AND OPHTHALMOLOGY Page 2 ■ FINDING A PATH I believe role models are central to many people's lives, mine included. My mother was a midwife and my father was a cardiologist, so I had constant exposure to the daily ins and outs of patient care through hearing about their cases. This led me to explore opportunities in medicine as I grew older: shadowing physicians in the hospital, observing neurosurgeries, and deepening my understanding of healthcare during my time as a student. Ultimately, I felt a calling to help people while simultaneously advancing science. That's why I chose a career at an academic medical center, right here at Stanford. I care for patients, participate in cutting-edge research, and train the next generation of eye surgeons. ■ MAKING PROGRESS There's nothing more gratifying than preventing blindness in a patient. It's especially meaningful when I can assist friends, colleagues, and their families with their eye care needs, such as urgent surgical interventions to preserve their vision. On the academic front at Stanford, I've been developing a groundbreaking stem cell therapy that could restore vision in advanced cases of age-related macular degeneration; this currently lacks regenerative treatment options. I'm proud that we've successfully advanced this therapy from basic laboratory research through animal models, and we're now in discussions with the FDA to initiate human clinical trials. ■ BUILDING BONDS I felt an immediate connection when meeting brothers at SigEp events! My freshman RA was chapter president, and his amazing energy also drew me to the organization. Ultimately, I chose SigEp because of the genuine fellowship I encountered throughout the recruitment process. Looking back, what I value most are the deep, lasting friendships, and shared experiences that bonded us together as brothers. My most cherished fraternity memory was the Pledge Fetch my freshman year—an epic scavenger hunt spanning the entire West Coast from Washington State to Mexico. Spending two days on the road with three other guys was an incredible bonding experience. My time with SigEp gave me significant organizational leadership skills as well. This began for me as social chair, followed by vice president of programming, then as chapter president my senior year—the true crucible of college leadership. While SigEp was foundational to my Stanford years, I was also actively involved in other pursuits, including playing drums in the Stanford Band and founding an aviation club. ■ THE VALUE OF BROTHERHOOD I distinctly remember an upperclassman telling me when I joined the fraternity: "You get out what you put in." This strategy certainly paid dividends during my SigEp experience, but also in my personal and professional life. While there's a trend today of advising younger people not to overcommit and to prioritize personal time, I've found that consistently volunteering for opportunities and agreeing to my superiors' requests has led to tremendous satisfaction and opened doors to remarkable opportunities, particularly in my medical career. In our early alumni years, many SigEps remained in the San Francisco Bay Area, making it easy to gather for football games, socialize in Palo Alto or San Francisco, and celebrate milestone events like weddings together. While many brothers have since relocated from the Bay Area, making regular gatherings more challenging, I always seize any opportunity to reconnect when possible. ■ WHAT ELSE IS NEW? With two daughters in high school, much of my free time is spent with them and my wife. We all love to travel. Life can be busy, but I still make time for longtime passions like flying, skiing, and music. In fact, this past year I picked up the electric bass to join my daughters as they learned guitar and drums. (I also became a dog owner for the first time in my life.) In addition to his work at Stanford, Ted sees patients at Byers Eye Institute in Palo Alto, California. You can connect with him at tedleng@gmail.com. Luc Alvarez Michael Bendok Adi Bora Akshana Dassanaike-Perera Kapil Dheeriya Jonah Ezekiel Jack Givhan Danny Goldberg Trevor Christian Golob Akash Gupta Jose Angel Machin Kairuz Ben Lawson Caleb Liu Jack Lofwall Joseph Machado Arjun Maheshwari Cole Matthes Drew Messing Henry Palmer Donnie Raymond Maxime Raynaud Cole Robins Sebastian Russo Sam Wondsen Thomas Yim Congratulations, Spring 2025 Graduates! STILL SERVING STANFORD

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