Mark Pennesi

Prof. Mark Pennesi, MD, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in Ophthalmology at Oregon Health & Science University. He holds the Kenneth C. Swan Endowed Professorship and is the chief of the Paul H. Casey Ophthalmic Genetics Division at the Casey Eye Institute. Dr. Pennesi attended the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering and was awarded the Herman P. Schwann award in bioengineering for exemplary scholarship.

Prof. Pennesi pursued combined MD/PhD at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, followed by a residency in ophthalmology at University of California, San Francisco, where he was awarded the Hogan-Garcia Award for best resident research project. He is the recipient of an FFB career development award, an RPB career development award, and an FFB enhanced career development award, and has been elected into both the Macula Society and the Retina Society.

Prof. Pennesi is a clinician scientist with a passion for developing novel therapeutic regimens for inherited retinal diseases. He has helped propel the Casey Eye Institute into a leader in novel therapies for inherited retinal dystrophies, and has been the PI or Co-PI on numerous clinical trials into treatments for inherited retinal diseases. He is a principal investigator on the Allergan Brilliance trials, which saw the first patient treated with gene editing from CEP290-related retinopathy.