Washington University in St. Louis (WU)
Dr. Cecilia S. Lee’s research focuses on leveraging retinal imaging as a noninvasive window into systemic and neurological health through a transdisciplinary approach that integrates ophthalmology, neurology, epidemiology, and data science. Using an oculomics framework, she combines multimodal retinal imaging with clinical, cognitive, and biomarker data to identify early indicators of neurodegenerative and systemic diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and aging.
Her work emphasizes large-scale, longitudinal cohort studies and the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to extract clinically meaningful insights from complex datasets. A central goal of her research is to develop scalable, accessible biomarkers that can be applied across diverse populations to improve early detection, risk stratification, and disease monitoring. She is particularly interested in translating these approaches into real-world and global health settings to advance precision health and reduce disparities in aging and systemic health outcomes.