Leoné Malan has aimed to describe a mechanistic pathway pertaining to stress in the brain–heart axis since 2007. Hence, she designed the first brain–heart prospective cohort study in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2008 and, as principal investigator, received an international award for project design excellence. She conceptualized and implemented a Hypertension Research and Training clinic on campus with ongoing cardiovascular monitoring programs and talks in collaboration with clinicians in the community. She is a working group member of various brain–heart and vascular biology societies. Lastly, she and husband, Nico Malan, quantified a chronic emotional stress and stroke risk phenotype as a mobile screening instrument to improve preventive health care.