Dr. Jacque Duncan is an ophthalmologist who specializes in treating retinal degenerative diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa, which affects one in 3,500 people worldwide, and age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in Americans over age 50. Both conditions run in families and have no cure. In addition, her expertise includes diagnosing and treating retinal diseases such as Usher syndrome (an inherited disorder that affects both vision and hearing), cone-rod dystrophy (an inherited disorder in which the retina's light-sensitive cells deteriorate) and Stargardt disease (a form of macular degeneration that develops in childhood). She is skilled in using experimental techniques to prevent or slow these conditions.
In her research, Duncan is studying treatments to preserve vision as well as devices to stimulate visual perception. She has received research funding from Research to Prevent Blindness, the Karl Kirchgessner Foundation, Hope for Vision and the American Geriatrics Society, in addition to receiving a Career Development Award from the Foundation Fighting Blindness.
Duncan earned her medical degree at UCSF, where she also completed an ophthalmology residency. She then completed a medical retina fellowship at the Penn Medicine Scheie Eye Institute, where she focused on patients with age-related macular degeneration and inherited retinal degeneration. She joined the UCSF faculty in 2000.
