Diseases of the eye surface

Disease and injury to the anterior surface of the eye are the leading causes of visits to physicians for medical eye care in the United States. They rank among the most painful of eye conditions and can lead to disability and blindness. Major clinical problems of the surface of the eye include ocular surface drying, tear film abnormalities, and related complications; ocular surface wounds with resultant pathology and scarring; corneal dysfunction dystrophies and inherited disease; inflammatory disease; and external ocular infections. Efforts of individual laboratories are enhanced by the following research focus group:

Research groups:

Lids to Lens

Leader James Zieske, Ph.D.

This research group investigates all of the above clinical conditions of the tear film, eye surface, cornea and lens. Among their goals are to:

increase their understanding of the composition, structure, and regulation of the tear film and its relation to the ocular surface in health, disease, and aging, and develop better methods of evaluating, diagnosing, and treating patients with dry eye and tear film abnormalities

deepen their knowledge of the healing and regeneration of all layers of the cornea, particularly the ocular surface epithelium in relation to the subjacent stroma, and the molecular basis of tissue destruction and scarring in the cornea

reveal the mechanisms and control of corneal endothelial cell turnover and replacement in order to develop alternatives to whole grafts from donor eyes

more fully describe the effects of corneal inflammation and develop methods for its control

understand the protective antipathogen activity of ocular surface mucins in order to improve prevention and treatment of ocular infections
bring engineers and corneal specialists together to create an artificial cornea

Members

Pablo Argueso
Darlene Dartt
Nancy Joyce
Meredith Gregory-Ksander
Ula Jurkunas
Bruce Ksander
Sharmila Masli
Andy Taylor
Jeff Ruberti
Joan Stein-Streilein
Driss Zoukhri