J William Harbour

BIOGRAPHY

Academic Position:

J. William Harbour, MD, Paul A. Cibis Distinguished Professor is Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Professor of Cell Biology & Physiology, Professor of Medicine and Molecular Oncology, and Director of Ocular Oncology here at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Harbour brings both clinical and research experience to Washington University School of Medicine through his years of service and dedication to the ocular oncology field.

Background and Education:

J. William Harbour, MD, received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins, followed by residency at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, Vitreoretinal Diseases fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, and Ocular Oncology fellowship at University of California, San Francisco. He obtained research training at the National Cancer Institute and in the Division of Molecular Oncology at Washington University. He is presently Director of Ocular Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine and the Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis, and he oversees an active research program focusing on the genetics and genomics of ocular melanoma.

Memberships, Editorial Activities and Awards:

Dr. Harbour has authored over 125 papers and has given over 170 lectures both nationally and internationally. He has also organized and chaired over 20 ocular oncology meetings. He has received numerous professional awards including the ARVO Cogan Award and the Macula Society Rosenthal Award.

Research Interests:

Dr. Harbour conducts clinical, translational and basic scientific research to explore the causes and treatments for ocular tumors. Much of his recent work has focused on uveal melanoma.

His laboratory uses a combination of cell biology and genomic techniques, such as copy number variation analysis, mRNA and miRNA profiling, epigenetic profiling and second generation sequencing, to study the acquisition of new genetic alterations in uveal melanoma. His group described a gene expression signature that is highly predictive of metastatic death, and this work has been translated into a clinical prognostic test that is used around the world. His group recently identified mutations in the metastasis suppressor gene BAP1, opening a new avenue to study the causes and treatment for metastatic disease.


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