Dr. Sijia Cao

Sijia obtained her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of British Columbia in 2016. She also holds a MD from Shanghai Jiaotong University, China in 2008, with specialization in Ophthalmology. Her research is to understand the disease mechanism of retinal degeneration, especially age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Her research focuses on the important risk factors associated with AMD, such as drusen and CFH Y402H polymorphism. She found that these risk factors can trigger an overdrive in the body’s immune system (i.e.complement activation), which leads to chronic inflammation and damage in the eye tissues. Her research will help develop new strategies to stop AMD development and prevent vision loss in the elderly.

Contact: sijia.cao@alumni.ubc.ca