Deeba Husain, MD, Promoted to Professor of Ophthalmology

November 13, 2024

Deeba Husain, MD, has been promoted to Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School (HMS). Dr. Husain is a globally renowned clinician scientist who has dedicated her career to improving the management of retinal disease with a focus on age-related macular degeneration (AMD). She has had a remarkable trajectory in clinical care, teaching, and research since joining the Harvard Ophthalmology faculty in 2013, and has established a new field of investigation in AMD research using metabolomics.

Dr. Husain is a busy retina surgeon who treats advanced and complicated retinal disease, including AMD, and attracts regional, national, and international referrals for her expertise. She is Director of the Retina Consultants of Mass Eye and Ear at Stoneham, serves as Director of the Medical Retina Fellowship at Mass Eye and Ear, and is the Co-Director of the AMD Center of Excellence.

Dr. Husain has pioneered the role of metabolomics in AMD research. AMD is a multifactorial disease and the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, for which there currently is no cure. She is addressing this unmet need by studying the metabolites which are downstream of the genome, transcriptome, and proteome, and are affected by the environment, diet, and lifestyle. To evaluate the role of metabolomics in AMD, Dr. Husain formed an international collaborative team, including retina specialists from Mass Eye and Ear and the University of Coimbra in Portugal and researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. As a result of these collaborations, Dr. Husain has led an eight-year, ongoing prospective longitudinal international study which was the first to establish the role of metabolomics for all stages of AMD in two biofluids. This study has also identified novel metabolomic genomic correlations in the disease, has shown new associations of metabolomics with retinal function in AMD, and has recently described, for the first time, the metabolomic association of disease progression.

Her groundbreaking research has improved our understanding of the molecular basis of AMD pathogenesis and could one day allow us to identify novel, easily accessible biofluid biomarkers for AMD diagnosis and prognosis. This work also points to potential novel targets for treatment of the untreatable early and dry forms of the disease and could make it possible to offer precision medicine for the management of AMD.

Dr. Husain's body of research has resulted in the publication of 86 original articles, many in highly ranked journals, including PNAS, Ophthalmology, and Progress in Retina and Eye Research. She has also published 22 reviews and book chapters. She was awarded a patent in 2020 on “Biomarker of Age-Related Macular Degeneration,” for her metabolomics work.

Dr. Husain has received national and international recognition as a leader. She serves as a peer reviewer for 13 journals, including Metabolites, JAMA Ophthalmology, and Ophthalmology. She is also an ad hoc reviewer for the NIH Scientific Counselors. She has received multiple awards throughout her career, more recently the Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Honor Award from the American Society of Retina Surgeons, and the Harvard Medical School Ophthalmology Mentoring Award for her role in mentoring junior faculty.

Generous with her time, Dr. Husain is known to be a focused and present mentor, committed to helping her mentees develop their careers and ensure they continue an upward trajectory. Since joining the department, she has formally mentored more than 50 medical students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty members. Most recently, in recognition of her dedication to mentoring HMS trainees, she was invited to join the Mentoring Oversight Board for the Department of Ophthalmology’s Faculty Mentoring Program.

As a thought leader and highly respected expert in retinal disease, Dr. Husain has been an invited speaker and moderator at several national and international conferences. In the last three years she has given 23 presentations at various metabolomics and ophthalmology meetings. She has also delivered keynote addresses at the Macshop Meeting in New Delhi and the Institute of Ophthalmology Alumni meeting in Aligarh, India. She was invited to speak at the Boston University Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, where she delivered the Haimovici Lecture, and at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Symposium on Retinal Cell Biology Entering Human Era.

Dr. Husain is a member of 12 professional societies including the prestigious, invitation-only Macula Society and Club Jules Gonin, one of the most exclusive international societies in the retina field. She is on the steering committee of the AMD Metabolomics program at the National Eye Institute and the steering committee of the International Consortium of Metabolomics Studies at NIH.