Joseph Arboleda-Velasquez, MD., PhD

I received an M.D. degree from the University of Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia in 2000 and a Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School in 2009 where I studied the role of Notch 3 signaling in vascular smooth muscle cells and susceptibility to ischemic stroke using in vivo models. In 2010, I joined the Schepens Eye Research Institute as a postdoctoral fellow to study the role of cell-cell interactions in diabetic retinopathy. I am now an Assistant Professor at the Schepens Eye Research Institute and in the Department of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.

 

I am interested in the study of factors that promote resistance to neurodegeneration. I began my work on neuroscience by focusing on the biology and pathophysiology underlying small-vessel disease (SVDs). SVDs are prevalent systemic conditions affecting many organs including the retina along with the brain, kidney, and other richly perfused tissues. During medical school and my Ph.D., I focused on CADASIL (cerebral autosomal dominant ateriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy), a SVD linked to mutations on Notch 3, working on both the clinical characterization of CADASIL and the generation and characterization of animal models for CADASIL. Currently, my research program encompasses CADASIL and the study of small vessel changes associated with early and late stage diabetic retinopathy (DR). Currently, I also work on a collaborative project to chart genes associated to the resistance to dementia in Alzheimer's disease.

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In addition to his research projects, I maintains a keen interest in teaching and mentoring. I feel that serving as a mentor to research associates and assistants, medical students, and postdoctoral fellows has been an extremely rewarding experience that has substantially helped him to advance my project and has been critical in helping the establishment of his independent laboratory and career.