Distinguished Lecture Series April 2025 — Julia Busik, PhD, FARVO

Diabetic Retinopathy as Ceramidopathy: A Lipocentric Approach to a Glucocentric Problem

Our 2025 Doheny Distinguished Lecture Series (DLS) April lecture will be delivered by Julia Busik, PhD, FARVO, on Friday, April 25, 2025. Please refer to the lecture details below.

• Date: 4/25/25
• DLS Speaker: Julia Busik, PhD, FARVO
  Ed Miller Endowed Chair, Professor and Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Physiology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
• Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
• Location: Doheny Eye Institute, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 150 North Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena, CA

Bio:
Dr. Julia Busik is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Physiology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, where she holds the Ed Miller Endowed Chair. Her research focuses on the metabolic and inflammatory mechanisms underlying diabetic retinopathy (DR), with a particular emphasis on the role of lipid dysregulation and ceramide signaling in retinal vascular dysfunction. Her pioneering work has significantly improved our understanding of DR pathogenesis while simultaneously identifying novel therapeutic targets for management of retinal vascular complications. Dr. Busik’s research, which has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and various private foundations, has resulted in 80 peer-reviewed publications that have been cited over 5,000 times with an h-index of 43.

Beyond her research, Dr. Busik is a dedicated mentor and educator, having trained multiple Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows in molecular physiology and vision research. She has been recognized for her contributions with several prestigious awards, including the Gold Fellow distinction from ARVO and multiple institutional honors for research excellence and faculty mentorship. Dr. Busik earned her Ph.D. in Physiology from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Yokohama, Japan, and completed her early research training at the National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Japan. Before joining the University of Oklahoma, she held faculty positions at Michigan State University, where she led significant research initiatives in diabetic eye disease.