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Center Projects & Initiatives

Treatment of Corneal Disease

  • Promotion of corneal transplant survival

  • Development of new strategies to suppress endothelial cell death in cornea storage and transplantation

  • Expansion of stem cells for ocular surface reconstruction in corneal limbal stem cell deficiency

  • Analysis of the molecular mechanisms of corneal angiogenesis

  • Characterization of potential therapeutics for Epithelial Basement Membrane Dystrophy, based on an assay of abnormal matrix production

  • Notch signaling in conjunctival epithelial cell differentiation

  • Examination of the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis, biomarker development and treatment options for Fuchs Endothelial dystrophy

 

Ocular Infection

  • Identification by high throughput screening of novel inhibitors of bacterial growth and virulence, and testing their efficacy in ocular infection

  • Use of genomics to identify new antimicrobial targets, and to examine the development and spread of antibiotic resistance

  • Elaboration of novel treatment strategies for the prevention of sight threatening ocular infections

  • Evaluation of bacteria-mucin interactions at the ocular surface

  • Investigation of the role of mucins in the pathogenesis of bacterial keratitis

  • Development of therapeutics for conjunctivitis, based on our discovery of the pathogens' ability to degrade the ocular surface to permit infection

  • Analysis of biofilm development and physiology

  • Development and testing of biofilm-resistant materials for corneal keratoprostheses

  • Determination of the genomic basis for acquisition of vancomycin resistance by methicillin-resistant S. aureus

  • Pathogenesis of endophthalmitis

  • Pathogenesis of S. aureus keratitis

  • Analysis of comparative genomics in the evolution of virulent strains of enterococci

  • Transmission of virulence and antibiotic resistance traits into enterococci

  • Contribution of microbial ecology to the acquisition and propagation of antibiotic resistance

 

Dry eye syndrome

  • Analysis of the immunopathogenesis of dry eye disease

  • Development of novel treatments for the therapy dry eye syndrome

  • Assessment of methods to increase mucin production for treatment of dry eye

  • Characterization of mucin alterations in differing forms of dry eye

  • Analysis of O-glycans on mucins at the ocular surface

  • Investigation of regulatory mechanisms that prevent or suppress ocular surface, meibomian gland and lacrimal gland inflammation

  • Development of anti-inflammatory therapies to treat ocular inflammatory diseases

  • Analysis of the interrelationship between sex, sex steroids and dry eye syndromes

  • Identification of factors that contribute to the pathophysiology of human meibomian gland dysfunction and evaporative dry eye, and that may represent potential targets for therapeutic intervention

  • Development of new and unique therapies for the treatment of meibomian gland dysfunction and evaporative dry eye

 

Center Initiatives

  • Organized the 26th Biennial Cornea Research Conference , which was held in Boston on October 9 & 10, 2009. Center members on the Organizing Committee included Reza Dana (Co-Chair), David A. Sullivan (Co-Chair), Pablo Argueso, Ilene K. Gipson and Ula Jurkunas.

  • Initiated and co-sponsored a monthly research meeting series, entitled “New Frontiers in Corneal Research.” This series is organized by Pablo Argueso, Pedram Hamrah and Ula Jurkunas and is held every 2nd Wednesday evening at 5:30 PM in the 8th floor Boardroom at MEEI. 

  • Created an “Infectious Diseases Focus Group.” This group was organized by Michael Gilmore and his colleagues at MEEI and MGH,  and meets every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month from 3:30 to 5:30 PM.

 

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