2021 Faculty Grants Dr. Andrew Williams received the Research to Prevent Blindness and American Academy of Ophthalmology Award for IRIS® Registry Research in 2021. The grant supports selected investigators to use the IRIS Registry database and its analytic capabilities to further populationbased research in ophthalmology and blindness prevention. Clinical researchers are selected based on the potential of their original research to improve patient’s lives through research and innovation. Dr. Williams will use the IRIS Registry database to examine the clinical implications of loss of follow up in glaucoma. He hopes that understanding the extent of the problem of loss to follow up will help to inform future interventions to ensure glaucoma patients continue to receive needed care.
Dr. Ian Conner received a grant from the NIH for the Department’s participation in a trial to identify the optimal application of SLT therapy beginning at the time of diagnosis. Specifically, the goal of this study is to understand if SLT performed at low energy is as effective as SLT performed at standard energy, and also to see if repeating SLT at low energy once a year will prevent or delay the need for daily eye drop medications better than waiting for SLT to wear off before repeating it.
Dr. Robert Shanks received NIH funding to study the emergence of a subgroup of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria that cause more pathogenic ocular infections. The funding will allow Dr. Shanks along with the Charles T. Campbell Laboratory of Ophthalmic Microbiology and Anthony St. Leger to evaluate the microbiological and immunological mechanisms driving the pathogenic process caused by these bacteria. These studies may lead to improved clinical diagnosis and personalized medicine approach to improve patient outcomes within the rabbit optic nerve head.
Dr. Takaaki Kuwajima received the Alcon Research Institute Young Investigator Award for his research on optic nerve regeneration. The funded project is focused on the investigation of molecular mechanisms underlying RGC protection and axon regeneration by a novel combination therapy of FDA-approved drug, statins and an ECM-based reagent, MBV in the rodent optic nerve injury model. When completed, his results could help to give us a better understanding of how regenerative outcomes are enhanced, leading to development of a practical and effective regenerative approach for treatments of ocular trauma in humans.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS 3
