Marc Levin, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

 

Translational neuro-ophthalmologist

Dr. Marc Levin received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from UCSF. His graduate research in Biophysics focused on aquaporin (AQP) water channel and cystic fibrosis transmembrane channel (CFTR) physiology, especially in the cornea. Dr. Levin completed his residency in Ophthalmology plus a fellowship in Neuro-ophthalmology, both at the Scheie Eye Institute at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He was then elected the prestigious Society of Heed Fellows at the end of his training. He then returned to UCSF as an Assistant Professor and clinician-scientist in the Department of Ophthalmology. His primary research was in understanding roles for pathogenic autoantibodies against AQP4 in rodent models of neuromyelitis optica (NMO) optic neuritis. He also discovered and developed small-molecule CFTR activators as potential ocular surface therapies, and has been involved in advancing them to human trials. From 2016 to 2023, he practiced clinical neuro-ophthalmology, at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. He serves on multiple editorial boards in his field, and most recently as site and national principal investigator on multiple clinical studies of idebenone for the treatment of Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy. In 2023, he returned to the UCSF Department of Ophthalmology as an Associate Professor. Through renewed collaborations, he looks forward to developing new research directions, with the goal of making meaningful scientific contributions to improve his patients’ visual outcomes.

 

To Learn More:

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/marc.levin


 

Research Areas:

Amblyopia Strabismus or Eye Movement Disorders, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Visual System Function in Adults
 
Learn more about UCSF Ophthalmology faculty research.

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Bryan Winn, MD

Associate Professor

 

Chronic Inflammatory Eye and Orbital Diseases

Dr. Bryan J. Winn is an ophthalmologist who specializes in oculoplastic surgery: treating disorders of the eyelid, tear drainage system, and orbit (cavity containing the eye). He also performs aesthetic rejuvenation procedures for the face. Winn studies how the environment, nutrition and the human microbiome (all the microorganisms living on and inside a human body) may play roles in chronic inflammatory eye and orbital diseases. Winn has published more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific articles and several book chapters.

 

To Learn More:

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/bryan.winn


 

Research Areas:

Oculoplastics, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Visual System Function in Adults
 
Learn more about UCSF Ophthalmology faculty research.

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Yvonne Ou, MD

Associate Professor

 

Cellular and Synaptic Mechanisms of Glaucomatous Neurodegeneration

The Ou laboratory studies the cellular and synaptic mechanisms of glaucomatous neurodegeneration. We are particularly interested in understanding the earliest steps of inner retina circuit disassembly in response to injury. Our research program combines imaging and analysis of specific cell and synaptic labels in the retina, rodent models of experimental glaucoma, novel genetic tools in which specific cell types are labeled, and the tools of molecular/cell biology and physiology to address a series of questions that, unanswered, have prevented progress in the field: 1) What are the early steps of compartmentalized neurodegeneration of the ganglion cell in glaucoma? 2) Are there specific ganglion cell types that are more susceptible to intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation? 3) Are there specific inner retinal circuits that are more susceptible to IOP elevation? As a clinician-scientist, I am motivated to advance our field not only by answering these fundamental questions, but also by translating the knowledge gained into improvements in diagnostic and treatment modalities in glaucoma. For example, a detailed understanding of the earliest structural and functional changes that occur in glaucoma will allow us to design treatments that can rescue RGCs, perhaps the most susceptible RGCs, before irreversible cell death occurs.

 

To Learn More:

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/yvonne.ou
https://ophthalmology.ucsf.edu/oulab/

 

Research Areas:

Glaucoma, Mobile Health, Visual System Function in Adults
 
 
Learn more about UCSF Ophthalmology faculty research.

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Ari Green, MD

Professor

 

Understanding multiple sclerosis (MS) and related disorders

Division Chief of one of the largest Neuroimmunology research groups in the world, Dr. Green is dedicated to understanding multiple sclerosis and related disorders. The Green lab is particularly interested in developing means of harnessing glial biology to help repair damage to the central nervous system and in measuring this repair using vision-based metrics with an enhanced understanding of the visual system. His team has developed and optimized methods for performing visual evoked potentials and electroretinography in rodents and tools for determining the cellular and molecular basis of the signals detected. Also, he led the clinical translational team dedicated to the development of small molecules capable of remyelination and independently led the first successful clinical trial for remyelination in the setting of chronic injury in MS. He has mentored 19 postdoctoral fellows, 4 visiting fellows/faculty, 31 medical students and 10 specialists to careers in Medicine or lab research. He committed to mentoring residents and medical students with an interest in Neurology, Neuro-immunology, and Neuro-ophthalmology. He is helping to mentor junior faculty with an interest in careers in translational science and works closely with partners and colleagues from the basic sciences to cultivate a mentorship program. The Green lab will provide opportunities for Scholars with an interest in translational vision sciences, visual system injury and repair, and clinical trials work.

 

To Learn More:

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/ari.green
https://greenlab.ucsf.edu/
 

Research Areas:

Neuro-Ophthalmology, Multiple Sclerosis, Visual System Function in Adults
 
Learn more about UCSF Ophthalmology faculty research.

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