Derek Welsbie, MD, PhD

Dr. Welsbie is an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Shiley Eye Institute of the University of California, San Diego. He has an active medical and surgical practice, specializing in the care of glaucoma patients. He completed his medical and graduate training at the University of California, Los Angeles and his residency and glaucoma fellowship training at the Wilmer Eye Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. Welsbie’s laboratory focuses on the development of neuroprotective agents as a novel treatment strategy for glaucoma. Specifically, he uses high-throughput genetic screening to identify genes involved in the degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the nerve cells whose death defines glaucoma. Once these target genes are identified, he then uses a combination of gene therapy- and medication-based approaches to block the function of these genes and potentially halt the disease.