Ian M MacDonald, MSc, MD CM

Area of Study / Keywords

Ocular genetics natural history choroideremia retinitis pigmentosa

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About

Ian M. MacDonald MSc, MD CM is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, of Alberta and past Chair of the Department for 20 years. Prior to becoming Chair in Edmonton, in 1992, he was a Career Scientist of the Ontario Ministry of Health at the University of Ottawa. He completed residency training in Family Medicine at McGill University, Montreal, Ophthalmology residency training at the University of Ottawa and Clinical Genetics training at the University of Ottawa, Queen's University, Kingston and the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. He serves on the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Ophthalmology for Genetics. He is currently Director of the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Montreal.

MacDonald's areas of interest are inherited ocular disorders, in particular, maculopathies and choroideremia. In 2009, in recognition of his work in Canada to foster the development of academic Ophthalmology, he was elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Clinical Interests

As a clinical geneticist and ophthalmologist, I am interested in a range of human disorders that affect vision. I am sincerely interested in developing the capacity for our healthcare system and research infrastructure to respond to patients and families who wish to access clinical trials of ocular gene therapy. This area requires a dedicated team with expertise in the evaluation of genetic therapies.

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Research

In Edmonton, a technician is actively studying the genetic mechanisms underlying a heritable ocular disorder called choroideremia.

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Teaching

He is currently working at Hopital Ste-Justine in Montreal, one of the teaching hospitals of the University of Montreal.

in 2021, he received a Lifetime Achievement award from the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists. In the fall of 2021, he gave the Franceschetti Lecture to the International Society for Genetic Eye Disease and Retinoblastoma at their meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Yi Zhai, Manlong Xu, Alina Radziwon, Ioannis S. Dimopoulos, Paul Crichton, Rachel Mah, Robert E. MacLaren, Rizwan Somani, Matthew T. Tennant, Ian M. MacDonald

American Journal of Ophthalmology. 2023 April; 10.1016/j.ajo.2022.12.022

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Ian M. MacDonald

Ophthalmic Genetics. 2022 May; 10.1080/13816810.2022.2025608

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Lance P. Doucette, Nicole C. L. Noel, Yi Zhai, Manlong Xu, Oana Caluseriu, Stephanie C. Hoang, Alina J. Radziwon, Ian M. MacDonald

European Journal of Human Genetics. 2021 August; 10.1038/s41431-021-00872-3

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Nicole C. L. Noel, Ian M. MacDonald, W. Ted Allison

Biomolecules. 2021 January; 10.3390/biom11010078

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View additional publications

• MacDonald Laboratory