Lucia Sobrin, MD, MPH, the Charles Edward Whitten Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, was one of five uveitis specialists honored by the Birdshot Uveitis Society of North America (BUSNA) as part of Women's History Month. BUSNA is an independent, volunteer-run organization comprised of persons diagnosed with birdshot uveitis, a rare form of uveitis, in Canada and the U.S. It provides information and support for patients and raises funds for birdshot uveitis research.
Dr. Sobrin's interest in birdshot uveitis has grown out of her suspicion that this disease is far more widespread than current numbers show. HLA-A29 is the gene that has been associated with birdshot uveitis. Dr. Sobrin and her team are investigating the genetic profiles of people with birdshot uveitis using a Mass Eye and Ear repository and the Mass General Brigham Biobank and comparing their findings with those of non-birdshot HLA-A29 positive individuals. She and her team are also focused on the epigenetics of birdshot uveitis and the environmental factors that may promote the disease.
