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William R. Freeman

William R. Freeman, M.D. is a Vice Chair of the department of Ophthalmology at UCSD, Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of the UCSD Jacobs Retina Center. The clinical research center at the Jacobs Center enables patients to benefit from the latest advances in diagnostic equipment and therapies and is a free-standing clinical trial center for retinal diseases. Laboratory research and laboratories are also housed at the Jacobs Retina Center and elsewhere at UCSD and the researchers working in the Center focus on advancing promising therapies for macular degeneration, diabetes, tumors, inherited retinal disease, retinal detachment, macular holes and other important retinal diseases.

Dr. Freeman earned his graduate degree at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City before completing his Residency at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan and Fellowships at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of Southern California.  He has published over 600 peer reviewed scientific papers.  Dr. Freeman has held between one and two NIH RO-1 research grants for over 25 years.  He collaborates with other faculty at the UCSD Jacobs Retina Center and is a founder of Spinnaker Biosciences Corp specializing in nanoporous silicon drug delivery as well as Nanovision biosciences developing an artificial retina and advanced image sensing technology.

The Jacobs Retina Center has allowed Dr. Freeman to continue to build a research team dedicated to attacking retinal diseases that cause blindness and vision loss. Dr. Freeman’s clinical and research interests include complicated retinal detachment, diabetic retinopathy, macular holes and age-related macular degeneration. Dr. Freeman has been honored with several awards, including being listed as a Top San Diego Physician. In his honor, San Diego Mayor Sanders pronounced May 14, 2008 “William R. Freeman, M.D. Day.”  He was recently honored as the UCLA Doheny Eye Institute Distinguished Alumnus in 2019.

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Featured Publications

February 20, 2025

Semaglutide and Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy

Publication:
Jama Network
Authors:

October 15, 2024

Emerging Technologies in Eye Care

Publication:
Journal of Eye Care Technology
Authors:
Doctor 1, doctr 2, Doctor 3
A review of emerging technologies in eye care and their potential to improve patient outcomes.

September 10, 2024

The Role of Nutrition in Eye Health

Publication:
Nutrition and Ophthalmology
Authors:
An exploration of how nutrition impacts eye health and recommendations for dietary improvements.

August 25, 2024

Vision Rehabilitation Techniques for Patients

Publication:
Journal of Vision Rehabilitation
Authors:
This publication discusses various vision rehabilitation techniques available for patients with visual impairments.

July 30, 2024

Current Trends in Ophthalmology Research

Publication:
Ophthalmology Research
Authors:
An analysis of current trends in ophthalmology research and their implications for future studies.
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