Lotfi Merabet, OD, PhD, MPH Promoted to Professor
Lotfi Merabet, OD, PhD, MPH, the Frederick and Thaddeus Jakobiec Chair in Ophthalmology at Mass Eye and Ear, has been promoted to Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Merabet is Associate Chief of Basic and Translational Research at Mass Eye and Ear and Co-Director of the Harvard Ophthalmology Mobility Enhancement and Vision Rehabilitation Center of Excellence, where he helps drive collaborative research initiatives to improve care and advance discovery.
Since joining the faculty in 2010 as a clinician scientist and member of Mass Eye and Ear’s Vision Rehabilitation Service, Dr. Merabet has established himself as a world-renowned expert in neuroplasticity associated with adaptive strategies in individuals living with profound ocular blindness. His work expanded to investigate cerebral visual impairment (CVI), the leading cause of pediatric visual impairment and blindness in the United States and other developed countries. In response to this unmet public health concern, he has spearheaded a large-scale collaborative project with the Perkins School for the Blind that incorporates advanced multi-modal brain imaging methodologies and novel virtual reality-based assessment tools.
Dr. Merabet's research has illuminated how the brain adapts to vision loss. His studies reveal that individuals with ocular blindness repurpose visual cortex regions to process non-visual sensory input, while those with CVI develop alernative pathways for interpreting visual information following early brain injury. His work demonstrates that these nueroplastic adaptations are fundamental to developing compensatory behaviors and skills.
The implications of Dr. Merabet's research extend directly into educational practice and rehabilitation strategies. By championing a neuroscience-informed framework for understanding sensory processing in visually impaired children, his findings are reshaping professional development for teachers of the visually impaired and inspiring new pedagogical approaches in classroom settings.
Beyond his research contributions, Dr. Merabet is a tireless advocate for the visually impaired community, with particular dedication to young people. He serves on the Board of Directors Education and CVI Steering Committees at Perkins School for the Blind and as a Trustee for both the Carroll Center for the Blind and the National Braille Press. His service has earned widespread recognition, including the 2018 Distinguished Service Award from the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind, the 2021 Mass General Brigham Pillars of Excellence Award for Fostering Community, the 2022 Harvard Medical School Dean's Community Service Award, and the Perkins School for the Blind Collaboration Partnership Award.
A devoted mentor and educator, Dr. Merabet has trained numerous students and fellows at HMS and the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, and he was honored with the prestigious A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award from HMS in 2018.