About Us » FFB Funded Researchers
Michael B. Gorin, M.D., Ph.D.
|
Michael B. Gorin, M.D., Ph.D., is the first recipient of the Harold and Pauline Price Chair in Ophthalmology and the first chief of the Division of Retinal Disorders and Ophthalmic Genetics in the Department of Ophthalmology at the David Geffen School of Medicine – UCLA and Jules Stein Eye Institute. He also holds an appointment in the Vision Research Division at the Jules Stein Eye Institute. Dr. Gorin obtained his medical and doctor of philosophy degrees (Medical Scientist Training Program – NIH) from the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia and completed his internship at the Center for Health Sciences at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). He stayed on at UCLA for an NSRA-sponsored postdoctoral research fellowship and ophthalmology residency training at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, and then finished a clinical fellowship sponsored by the Foundation Fighting Blindness in Medical Retina and Genetics at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, England. Dr. Gorin returned to UCLA from the University of Pittsburgh, where he served as Assistant Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives for the six graduate health sciences schools. He joined the Pittsburgh campus in 1990, rising to the rank of Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology in the School of Medicine and the Department of Human Genetics in the Graduate School of Public Health and serving as interim chair for both departments. He was founding director of the Center for Human Genetics, a founding senior associate of the Center for Biomedical Informatics at the University, and held a secondary appointment in the Department of Bioengineering. Throughout his 16 years in Pittsburgh, he has provided clinical care on a regular basis in medical retina particularly in the fields of hereditary disorders, retinal diagnostics, drug-related ocular toxicity, and ophthalmic genetics. In 2001, he was a recipient of a Lew R. Wasserman Merit Award and in 2005 a Senior Scientist Investigator Award – both from Research to Prevent Blindness. From 2005-2008, he was named one of the top physicians in the United States by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. Dr. Gorin’s primary research focus is the molecular genetics of hereditary eye disorders, particularly age-related macular degeneration (AM.D.), retinitis pigmentosa and Stargardt disease. His research team was the first to identify genetic regions that contribute to AM.D., which then led to the identification of several macular degeneration genes by multiple scientists. He continues to conduct research in these areas, as well as in the biology of ocular pain and photophobia. He is currently director of the Department’s educational programs for the medical school undergraduates and is working on the implementation of an electronic health record system for the Department. As a full-time faculty member at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, Dr. Gorin divides his time between patient care for diseases of the retina, research into the genetics of inherited eye disorders and training young ophthalmologists and medical students. |
