Could you briefly discuss the role leverage plays in risk to account. And does the metatrader aid in calculating the value of the pip based on amount risked, leverage used and lot size. I have learned a great deal on technical analysis from this site. I just want to be sure I don't mess up a good trade set up by using the wrong leverage, or lot size. Thank you for your help.

Leverage is not directly related to risk to the account.
If you want to open a trade with a lot size of 1, $100,000 for example and your account allows 100:1 leverage, you will need $1,000 ($100,000 divided by 100) as margin.
If you open a trade that requires a margin of $1,000 and you only have $1,000 in your account any losses will mean that you would not have enough in your account to cover the margin. This would result in a margin call and the broker may close the trade if you do not add funds to your account.
You should always make sure that your account has enough funds to cover the margin on any open trades plus any losses that may be possible if your stops are hit.

The problem with leveraged trading is that unless a novice trader is completely aware of the pitfalls, is is very easy to trade with a much higher level of risk than is obvious.
It is further complicated because 1 lot is not the same size for every currency pair and risk per pip varies so much between the pairs.
You have to learn money management and position sizing. Thankfully this is made easy by the position size calculator that you see on the reports.

It would be so much simpler if Metatrader did offer the option on simply entering your required risk per pip (in your account currency) and then calculate the relevant position size.

Practice, practice, practice. Use a demo account and practice placing trades using the position size calculator until you can do it without having to think too much. Getting it wrong can be very expensive with a real trading account.

Thank you Keith. That makes more sense. I appreciate it.