Joanne Matsubara is a Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at UBC and a scientist with more than 30 years of experience investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases of the brain and eye. She received her PhD from the University of California, San Diego, with training in Neurosciences and Marine Biology, and is the Lead Principal Investigator of the UBC Research Excellence Cluster in Vision Sciences.
Her research explores the close relationship between the brain and the eye and how changes in the eye may provide important insights into diseases affecting the brain. A major focus of her work is Alzheimer’s disease (AD), where she is applying her extensive knowledge of the eye to develop non-invasive approaches for detecting and predicting disease. Her goal is to establish ocular biomarkers that can complement recently approved blood-based biomarkers for AD, ultimately contributing to earlier, more accessible detection and improved patient care.