Walter Greenleaf

Dr. Walter Greenleaf is a behavioral neuroscientist and medical technology developer with extensive experience at the intersection of brain science and digital health. Greenleaf holds a doctorate in neuro and bio-behavioral sciences from Stanford University School of Medicine, where he received an NIMH Graduate Fellowship. His career bridges academic research and clinical innovation in digital medicine and medical virtual reality (VR) technology.

Greenleaf’s research centers on developing computer-supported clinical products and applying VR and digital health technology to address behavioral and physical medicine challenges, including post-traumatic stress, anxiety disorders, depression, stroke, addictions, and autism spectrum disorder. He has designed and developed clinical systems in surgical simulation, 3D medical visualization, telerehabilitation, clinical informatics, clinical decision support, point-of-care clinical data collection, ergonomic evaluation technology, automatic sleep-staging systems, psychophysiological assessment, and simulation-assisted rehabilitation technologies. Greenleaf has served as principal investigator for research funded by the National Institutes of Health and NASA.

During his dissertation work, Greenleaf founded his first medical product company and has since maintained roles in both academia and business, lecturing, conducting research, publishing, and developing medical products. He founded and served as CEO for Greenleaf Medical Systems, InWorld Solutions, and Virtually Better, companies specializing in therapeutic virtual environments and behavioral health care. Greenleaf was the founding chief science officer for Pear Therapeutics and serves as chief science officer for Interaxon.

Greenleaf is research and innovations director at the Stanford Medical Mixed Reality Center and holds positions with the Virtual Human Interaction Lab and Brainstorm: The Stanford Laboratory for Brain Health Innovation & Entrepreneurship. He advises the Stanford Wearable Electronics Program and the Stanford Virtual Reality & Immersive Technology Clinic. Greenleaf previously directed the Mind Division at the Stanford Center on Longevity, focusing on age-related cognitive changes. He is co-founder and board chair for the International Virtual Reality Health Association and contributed to the establishment of the California State University Center for Disability Solutions and the International Society of Virtual Rehabilitation.

Greenleaf co-organizes the VR and Behavioral Healthcare Symposium, the Annual Virtual Reality and Healthcare Symposium, and the European Virtual Reality and Healthcare Symposium. He serves as a scientific advisor and grant reviewer for the U.S. Public Health Service, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, NASA, and the U.S. Department of Education. Greenleaf is an associate editor for JMIR Mental Health, the Journal of Virtual Reality in Medicine, and Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. He has received recognition for his contributions to immersive technology in healthcare, including the VWS Nextant Legacy Award.