Dr. Joan Miller

Dr. Joan W. Miller is Chair of Harvard Ophthalmology, Chair of Ophthalmology at the Mass Eye and Ear and Mass General Hospital, and Ophthalmologist-in-Chief at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Miller is an internationally recognized expert on retinal disorders, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Over the last two decades, she and her colleagues at the Mass Eye and Ear/HMS pioneered the development of photodynamic therapy using verteporfin (Visudyne®), the first approved pharmacological therapy able to reduce and slow vision loss in patients with AMD. Dr. Miller is the first female physician to achieve the rank of Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and the first woman to chair the Department of Ophthalmology. She is also the first woman appointed as Chair of Ophthalmology at both the Mass Eye and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital. In addition to these roles and responsibilities, she also co-directs the Mass Eye and Ear's Ines and Frederick Yeatts Retina Research Laboratory. Additionally, she is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and a co-recipient of the 2014 António Champalimaud Vision Award, the highest distinction in ophthalmology and visual science.