Penn Medicine Provider
Ophthalmology
Joan M. O'Brien, MD
4.8
(30)
Accepting new patients
Sees patients age 18 and up
Scheie Eye Institute Penn Presbyterian

About me

  • Director, Penn Medicine Center for Ophthalmic Genetics in Complex Diseases
  • Harold G. Scheie-Nina C. Mackall Research Professor of Ophthalmology

Education and training

  • Medical School: Dartmouth Medical School
  • Residency: Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary
  • Fellowship: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
  • Fellowship: Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary
  • Fellowship: UCSF Medical Center and Hospital

What my patients think about me

Average Rating
4.8

30 reviews

Comments are submitted by patients and reflect their views and opinions. The comments are not endorsed by and do not necessarily reflect the views of Penn Medicine.

April 2022
5.0
5.0
she was very nice to work with
February 2022
5.0
5.0
excellent medical.care
February 2022
5.0
5.0
everyone was courteous, friendly and professional!
December 2021
5.0
5.0
dr. o'brien and her staff are wonderful and are top experts

Insurance accepted

My Locations

Penn Medicine hospital privileges

  • Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
  • Penn Presbyterian Medical Center: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
Dr. O'Brien is a Penn Medicine physician.

Qualifications and experience

My research

Ramachandran R, Lu MC, Niziol LM, Woodward MA, Elam AR, Johnson L, Kershaw M, Musch DC, Bicket A, John D, Dougherty Wood S, Zhang A, Zhang J, O'Brien J, Newman-Casey PA. Performance of Optic Disc Optical Coherence Tomography Normative Database in a Large, Diverse, Real-World Cohort , Journal of glaucoma, 34(5): 2025,404–414


Mamidipaka A, Shi A, Lee R, Zhu Y, Chen Y, Di Rosa I, Salowe R, Ying GS, O'Brien JM. Socioeconomic and environmental factors associated with glaucoma in an African Ancestry Population: findings from the Primary Open-Angle African American Glaucoma Genetics (POAAGG) study , Eye (London, England): 2025


Di Rosa I, Halimitabrizi M, Salowe R, Augello P, Zhu D, Chen Y, Sankar P, Addis V, Ying GS, O'Brien J. Low Body Mass Index Poses Greater Risk of Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma in African Ancestry Individuals , American journal of ophthalmology: 2025


Mamidipaka A, Shi A, Addis V, He J, Lee R, Di Rosa I, Salowe R, Ying GS, O'Brien J. Outcomes of Trabeculectomy and Predictors of Success in Patients of African Ancestry With Primary Open Angle Glaucoma , Journal of glaucoma: 2025


Trang KB, Pahl MC, Pippin JA, Su C, Littleton SH, Sharma P, Kulkarni NN, Ghanem LR, Terry NA, O'Brien JM, Wagley Y, Hankenson KD, Jermusyk A, Hoskins JW, Amundadottir LT, Xu M, Brown KM, Anderson SA, Yang W, Titchenell PM, Seale P, Cook L, Levings MK, Zemel BS, Chesi A, Wells AD, Grant SFA. 3D genomic features across >50 diverse cell types reveal insights into the genomic architecture of childhood obesity , Elife: 2025


Mamidipaka A, Di Rosa I, Chen Y, Salowe R, Zhu Y, Addis V, Sankar P, Daniel E, Ying GS, O'Brien J. Optic cup morphology associated with glaucomatous damage: Findings from the Primary Open-Angle African American Glaucoma Genetics (POAAGG) Study , AJO international, 1(3): 2024


Sapir T, Augello P, Lee R, McCoskey M, Salowe R, Addis V, Sankar P, Ying GS, O'Brien JM. Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Is Associated with Short-Term Memory Decline and Dementia in Individuals of African Ancestry. , Journal of clinical medicine, 13(14): 2024,4140


Zhao B, Li Y, Fan Z, Wu Z, Shu J, Yang X, Yang Y, Wang X, Li B, Wang X, Copana C, Yang Y, Lin J, Li Y, Stein JL, O'Brien JM, Li T, Zhu H. Eye-brain connections revealed by multimodal retinal and brain imaging genetics , Nature communications, 15(1): 2024,6064


Sripinun, P., See, L. P., Nikonov, S., Chavali, V. R. M., Vrathasha, V., He, J., O'Brien, J. M., Xia, J., Lu, W., & Mitchell, C. H. Piezo1 and Piezo2 channels in retinal ganglion cells and the impact of Piezo1 stimulation on light-dependent neural activity , bioRxiv: 2024


Jordan JA, Daniel E, Chen Y, Salowe R, Zhu Y, Miller-Ellis E, Addis V, Sankar PS, Zhu D, Smith E, Lee R, Ying GS, O’Brien JM. Features Associated with Visible Lamina Cribrosa Pores in Individuals of African Ancestry with Glaucoma: Primary Open-Angle African Ancestry Glaucoma Genetics (POAAGG) Study , Vision (Basel, Switzerland), 8(2): 2024


View all publications