Faculty Profile

Julia E. Richards, PhD
- Harold F. Falls Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Professor Emeritus, Epidemiology
- Professor Emeritus, Epidemiology
- Director, Glaucoma Research Center
Julia E. Richards, Ph.D., Harold F. Falls Collegiate Professor of Ophthalmology and
Visual Sciences, professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences, Medical School, and
professor of epidemiology, School of Public Health, retired from active faculty status
on October 31, 2017.
Professor Richards received her B.S. (1971) degree from the University of Washington
and her Ph.D. (1983) degree from the University of Wisconsin. She joined the University
of Michigan faculty as an assistant professor of epidemiology in 1989, and was promoted
to associate professor in 1998, and professor in 2007. Professor Richards held several
additional appointments in the Medical School's Department of Ophthalmology, including
assistant research scientist, senior associate research scientist, associate professor,
and professor. She was named the Harold F. Falls Collegiate Professor of Ophthalmology
and Visual Sciences in 2009.
Professor Richards is internationally recognized for her research in ophthalmic genetics.
Her earliest work included the cloning of some of the first single copy mammalian
genes in the early days of molecular biology. The main body of her work led to the
identification of many genetic risk factors, genes, and pathways involved in human
eye diseases. Professor Richards, with R.S. Hawley, published two editions of The
Human Genome: A User's Guide (2005 and 2011) in the course of her public health genetics
teaching and curriculum work in the School of Public Health. She authored more than
100 research articles, 20 book chapters, and 120 meeting abstracts. Professor Richards'
proposal title, "Fountains of Youth for the Eye," was the winning entry for the National
Eye Institute's Audacious Goals Challenge in 2013. She was inducted into the Medical
School's League of Research Excellence in 2011.
The Regents now salute this distinguished faculty member by naming Julia E. Richards,
professor emerita of ophthalmology and visual sciences and professor emerita of epidemiology.