Brian Hafler

Brian Hafler, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Science at Yale School of Medicine. He specializes in complex retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, and stem cell regeneration. His research focuses on neuroinflammation and molecular mechanisms driving retinal degeneration using advanced techniques like single-cell transcriptomics.

Education & Training:

• MD/PhD from Harvard Medical School (2019)
• Ophthalmology residency at Yale New Haven Hospital
• Heed Fellowship in Retina at Massachusetts Eye and Ear

Research Interests: Dr. Hafler’s lab generates high-resolution cellular atlases of human retinas to identify cell types involved in AMD and glaucoma. His work integrates machine learning (e.g., diffusion condensation) with spatial transcriptomics to uncover therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative eye diseases.

Awards & Honors:

• American Society for Clinical Investigation Young Physician Scientist Award
• Thome Memorial Foundation Award for AMD Research
• William R. Orthwein, Jr. ’38 Yale Scholar

Labs & Collaborations: Leads the Brian Hafler Lab at Yale, collaborating with Smita Krishnaswamy’s lab (Genetics/Computer Science) to develop novel computational tools for analyzing retinal cell biology. Active in programs like the Wu Tsai Institute and the Program in Translational Biomedicine.