Derek Welsbie, MD, PhD

Derek S. Welsbie, M.D., Ph.D., is a glaucoma specialist at the University of California, San Diego. An Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Shiley Eye Institute, his laboratory studies the way in which glaucoma leads to optic nerve injury, neurodegeneration and, ultimately, vision loss. His lab was recently named one of four to be selected by the Glaucoma Research Foundation for the Catalyst for the Cure initiative. Prior to joining UC San Diego Health in 2016, Dr. Welsbie was an Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins University Wilmer Eye Institute, where he won the Shafer Prize for innovative glaucoma research from the Glaucoma Research Foundation and was named Assistant Professor of the Year (2015). He also served as the Stephen J. Ryan Assistant Chief of Service and continues to have an interest in resident and medical student education. Dr. Welsbie completed a residency in ophthalmology and fellowship training in glaucoma at the Wilmer Eye Institute. He earned his medical degree and doctorate in molecular biology from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. While there, Dr. Welsbie did pioneering work in the field of cancer that led directly to the invention of enzalutamide, the first-line treatment for advanced prostate cancer.