Our Team

Joan O'Brien

Drawing on decades of expertise in ocular genetics, Dr. O'Brien serves as the Director of the Penn Medicine Center for Ophthalmic Genetics in Complex Disease and as the Nina C. Mackall Professor of Ophthalmology at the Perelman School of Medicine. 

Originally from Boston, Dr. O'Brien graduated summa cum laude from Middlebury College as valedictorian. She went on to obtain her medical degree at Dartmouth Medical School, where she was awarded the Dean's Medal as the outstanding graduating senior. Dr. O'Brien completed her internship in internal medicine at Beth Israel Hospital, followed by research fellowships in immunology at Harvard Medical School and in molecular ophthalmic pathology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and the Whitehead Institute at MIT. Dr. O'Brien subsequently completed an ophthalmology residency at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and an ocular oncology fellowship with orbital and oculoplastics training at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

Dr. O'Brien was then appointed as an Assistant Professor at UCSF, where she remained for 17 years. After only five years, she achieved tenure. During her time at UCSF, Dr. O'Brien served as the Director of the ocular oncology unit, receiving world-wide referrals for cancer to the eye and ocular adnexa. She was also appointed Vice Chair for Medical Student Education and was elected to the Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators. Dr. O'Brien also directed an NEI-funded CLIA laboratory, which focused on ocular genetics research. This research has advanced diagnostic and treatment options for several diseases. Working with Boris Bastian's lab at UCSF, Dr. O'Brien discovered and characterized two novel oncogenes (GNAQ and GNA11) in uveal melanoma, which were published in Nature and New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. O'Brien also identified numerous unique pathogenic variants in the retinoblastoma gene (RB1). The resultant genetic testing, which allowed retinoblastoma therapy to be directed according to underlying genetic risk, was offered nationwide at no charge through NEI's eyeGENE™ initiative.

Dr. O'Brien joined the University of Pennsylvania in 2010, when she was named the Chairman of the Ophthalmology Department and Director of the Scheie Eye Institute. In 2013, Dr. O'Brien was elected to Institute of Medicine, now the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors a physician can receive. In recent years, she has received the AAO's Secretariat Award, the USC Keck School of Medicine's Laureate Award, and the Retina Research Foundation's Gertrude D. Pyron Award for Lifetime Research Achievement. In 2018, she was inducted into the American Ophthalmological Society, an honor society for ophthalmologists. For many years, including the present, Dr. O'Brien has been recognized as a top ophthalmologist by U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, Philadelphia Magazine, and Castle Connolly. She has been named as a top cancer doctor by Newsweek and Philadelphia Magazine. In 2020, she was an elected member of Who's Who in America. Throughout her career, Dr. O'Brien has authored more than 275 publications.

In addition to her contributions while Chair, Dr. O'Brien is the Principal Investigator on the large-scale, NIH-funded Primary Open Angle African American Glaucoma Genetics (POAAGG) Study, a genetics study on glaucoma in African ancestry individuals. As Director of the Center, she continues her important and collaborative research on glaucoma and other complex diseases.

Rebecca Salowe, MSE

Rebecca graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BSE and MSE in Bioengineering. She has ten years of experience of scientific writing and research project management. In her position, Rebecca serves as the Research Project Manager for the POAAGG study, writes and edits articles for scientific journals, and drafts grants for new research projects. She also works closely with physicians, biostatisticians, and lab members to design research studies and organize community outreach efforts. In her free time, Rebecca enjoys running races, exploring Philly, golfing, and spending time with family and friends.

Jie He, MD

Dr. He received her MD in China. In the lab, she works on extracting DNA from samples of glaucoma cases, controls, and suspects. She is also working on cell cultures to induce pluripotent stem cells into retinal ganglion cells. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and traveling.

Vrathasha Vrathasha, PhD

Dr. Vrathasha received her PhD in biological sciences from the University of Delaware. She is currently studying the use of human-induced pluripotent stem cells in retinal ganglion cell transplantation therapy and the method of exogenous mitochondria in replacing dysfunctional mitochondria in retinal cells.

Roy Lee

Roy received his MS in Computer Science from Drexel University. He has worked at the Scheie Eye Institute since August 2015, supporting the POAAGG study as the Database Manager.

Isabel Di Rosa

Isabel received her AB from Princeton University. Prior to working at UPenn, she completed a premedical postbaccalaureate program at Thomas Jefferson University. At the Center, she drafts and edits grant proposals and manuscripts for research papers, among other writing and communications tasks. Isabel enjoys walking her dog Olive, trying new restaurants with friends, and traveling with family in her free time.

Amy-Ann Edziah

Amy-Ann received her BA in Biology and Education from Swarthmore College. As a clinical research coordinator, she leads the patient-facing and organizational aspects of various clinical projects, identifies and processes study guideline requirements, screens and enrolls patients to studies at the Center, and contributes to manuscripts and grants. In her free time, Amy enjoys trying new restaurants around the city and relaxing at home.

Moksha Laxmi, PhD

Dr. Laxmi earned her PhD in ocular pharmacology and pharmacy from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, where she researched drug transporter functions in blood ocular barriers during ocular inflammation in uveitis. At the Center, Dr. Laxmi uses cellular and murine systems to evaluate the variants of genome wide significance found in the POAAGG study and assists in developing cell lines. Outside of the lab, she loves to make recipes from her science cookbook and to create decorative or applied-art works.

Mina Halimitabrizi

Mina received her bachelor’s degree in immunology and infectious disease from Penn State University. As a research assistant, Mina assists in a variety of tasks in the lab and conducts literature reviews related to future projects and grants.

Yan Zhu, PhD

Dr. Zhu earned her PhD in computational chemistry from the University of Toledo and her Master’s in computer and information technology (MCIT) from the University of Pennsylvania. As a research fellow, she performs bioinformatics analyses for the POAAGG study, including post-GWAS and whole-exome data analyses.

Camila Polanco

Camila serves as the program coordinator for the Center, and is actively engaged in various academic and research endeavors. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Human Development and Family Sciences, and is determined to leverage her research and academic expertise to advance knowledge and make a meaningful impact in the Philadelphia community. In addition to her professional pursuits, Camila enjoys going on nature walks, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Chun Yin "Caven" Chow

Caven is a third-year medical student at California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM), completing a research fellowship with our Center. He is interested in the role of technology and genetics in improving the diagnosis and treatment of debilitating ophthalmic diseases, particularly for different racial and patient populations. On the weekends, Caven is most likely adventuring through the city in search of a delicious cup of coffee. In his free time, he enjoys kickboxing, yoga, podcasts on economics and behavioral science, and learning about food science.

Victoria M. Addis, MD 

Dr. Addis received her AB from Princeton University and her MD from Jefferson Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. Her research interests include the diagnosis of early glaucoma, diagnostic techniques for the evaluation and monitoring of patients with glaucoma, and medical and surgical therapies for glaucoma. She has been an investigator with the POAAGG study since 2015.

Eydie Miller-Ellis, MD

Dr. Miller-Ellis received her BA from Duke University and her MD from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests include medical and surgical interventions for glaucoma, and diagnostic techniques for the evaluation of glaucoma.

Ahmara Ross, MD, PhD

Dr. Ross completed her BA at Bryn Mawr College and her MD and PhD from Thomas Jefferson University. Her research is currently funded by an NIH K08 Career Development Award to investigate the neuroprotective potential of gene therapy directed at retinal ganglion cells and neighboring support cells to treat glaucoma. Dr. Ross is also collaborating on similar research using gene therapy to treat other mouse models of optic neuropathy such as trauma, compression, and inflammation.

Prithvi Sankar, MD

Dr. Sankar completed his BA and his MD at the University of Virginia. Dr. Sankar is Vice Dean for Medical Student Education. His research expertise involves the phenotypic identification of patients with glaucoma.

Qi Cui, MD, PhD

Dr. Cui's research interests include mechanisms of and therapeutics for all forms of glaucoma. Her lab is actively evaluating GLP-1 receptor agonists, a class of diabetic and weight loss medication, as neuroprotective agents in glaucoma.

Gui-shuang Ying, MD, PhD 

Dr. Ying completed his MD and MPH from Zhejiang Medical University, his MS in Biostatistics from the University of Michigan, and his PhD in Biostatistics from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Ying leads the data coordinating center for multi-center clinical trials or observational clinical studies. Dr. Ying is a biostatistical consultant for research projects in ophthalmology and vision. Dr. Ying’s statistical expertise includes clinical trial design, predictions in clinical trials, development of risk prediction models for various eye diseases, analysis of correlated eye data, and statistical assessment of screening/diagnostic tests in ophthalmology or vision. Dr. Ying also collaborates with ophthalmologists and vision scientists for study design, data management, statistical analysis, results interpretation, and publications of study findings.

Ebenezer Daniel, MBBS, MS, MPH, PhD

Dr. Daniel received his MBBS from Christian Medical College, his MS from Madras Medical College, his MPH from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and his PhD from MGR Medical University. He has conducted extensive research in ocular leprosy, and was the Principal Investigator of the WHO-sponsored study, the Longitudinal Study of Ocular Leprosy (LOSOL). Dr. Daniel also directs a centralized reading center in grading images of various retinal diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retinopathy of prematurity.

Dave Collins

Dave Collins is a long-time scientist in Dr. O’Brien’s lab, both at UCSF and UPenn, where he has directed junior faculty and staff.