Ines Lains, MD PhD is originally from Portugal and earned her MD and PhD at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. During her PhD, she received a grant that supported her to move to the United States (US) and pursue a research fellowship at Massachusetts Eye and Ear (MEE). After that, she did her residency at the Harvard Ophthalmology Residency Program and then completed a vitreoretinal surgery fellowship also at MEE.

Dr. Lains is a clinician scientist that specializes in the treatment of vitreoretinal diseases. Her current main research focus is on age-related macular degeneration (AMD). She is working to apply artificial intelligence to better characterize the disease phenotypes and how they relate to metabolomic and genetic profiles, with the ultimate goal of improving the current understanding of the pathophysiology of this blinding disease. She is currently funded through the NIH/NEI-funded K12 Harvard-Vision Clinical Scientist Training Program.

To date, Dr. Lains has published more than 80 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has received numerous awards and recognitions. These include The Michels Fellowship Foundation Award for outstanding vitreoretinal surgery fellow (2024), the Macula Society Evangelous S. Gragoudas Award (2023) and the nomination as one of the most promising ophthalmologists under 40 years old (40 under 40, 2022).