Patrick Yu Wai Man is Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Cambridge and an Honorary Consultant Neuro-Ophthalmologist with a specialist research interest in genetic eye diseases.
Patrick qualified from Newcastle University (BMedSci 2001, MBBS 2002) before starting his ophthalmology training. He undertook a PhD funded by an MRC Research Training Fellowship (2007-2010) and then secured an MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship (2012-2016) to establish his independent research group embedded within the Newcastle Wellcome Trust Centre for Mitochondrial Research. In 2017, Patrick joined the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge.
His research programme is currently focused on dissecting the disease mechanisms leading to progressive retinal ganglion cell loss in inherited optic neuropathies by using a combination of patient tissues, induced pluripotent stem cells and animal models. Patrick was awarded an NIHR Advanced Fellowship (2021-2026) to evaluate patient outcomes and therapies for this group of disorders.
He is the Director of the Cambridge Clinical Vision Laboratory that was set up as a cross-cutting facility to support advanced therapeutics on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. In parallel, Patrick has established a strong collaborative link with the NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre to fast track the development of effective therapies for inherited optic neuropathies, including novel gene therapy approaches. With funding from the NIHR and the MRC, he has built a national referral network for the investigation and management of patients with mitochondrial eye diseases.
His research group is capitalising on this unique resource to explore disease biomarkers and the clinical applicability of high-resolution structural and functional ocular imaging. In addition to his academic roles, Patrick contributes to the clinical service of patients with mitochondrial disease at Addenbrooke’s Hospital (Cambridge) and he runs a dedicated optic nerve genetics clinic at Moorfields Eye Hospital (London).
Professor Yu Wai Man’s Laboratory
Professor Yu Wai Man’s laboratory focuses on the molecular genetic basis of the inherited optic neuropathies and the application of gene therapy to treat this group of disorders. The group is also using transgenic zebrafish models to study the mechanisms leading to retinal and optic nerve degeneration. In collaboration with Professor Michael Cheetham at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, there is an advanced research programme capitalising on the use of patient-derived induced pluripotent cells to generate various retinal cell types. These complementary disease models are being used to test new treatments for the inherited optic neuropathies, working closely with industrial partners.