Dr. Michael Yang received a grant from the Knights Templar Eye Foundation for July 2004 through June 2005 to study the relationship of race, gender, and illness severity scores to the severity of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). He found that male gender and higher illness severity scores were highly predictive of severe ROP. He recently presented his findings at the 31st annual meeting of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS). In addition, Dr. Yang was first author of a paper on the surgical correction of vertical abnormal head postures in nystagmus patients that was published in August 2004 in the Journal of AAPOS. Dr. Yang and colleagues found that vertical abnormal head postures can be corrected with large amounts of surgery on the vertical rectus muscles without causing significant complications. During the next fiscal year, Dr. Yang continues his collaboration on ROP with Dr. Edward Donovan in child health policy research. Dr. Yang's research assistant, Jillian Ellis, BS has been very helpful in this work.
Dr. Sarah Lopper was accepted for application of Fellowship to the American Academy of Optometry. She is focused on children with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and has created an exam form template for children with JRA needing slit lamp examinations to rule out ocular inflammation associated with their arthritis. This assures that children receiving their slit lamp exams are seen at appropriate intervals as established by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Lopper coordinated with Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy to improve triaging of children referred to ophthalmology for reading difficulties. Children with normal eye exams are referred to a key member in occupational therapy to identify deficient visual perceptual skills that may benefit from treatment with this occupational therapist. She has collaborated with Endocrinology to establish clinic care criteria and screening protocol for children with diabetes.
The Visual Systems Group is made up of Richard Lang, PhD, Tiffany Cook, PhD, and Nadean Brown, PhD. The research within the ophthalmology division continues to grow. Dr. Tiffany Cook joined the visual development group in September 2004 based on her previous work related to color receptor differentiation. Using the fruit fly as a model, Dr. Cook has identified a number of transcription factors involved in retinal cell differentiation in animals ranging from flies to humans. Some of these factors are mutated in retinal degenerative diseases affecting both children and aging adults. Thus, Dr. Cook's research should be useful for better understanding how the retina develops and how the structure and function of the eye is maintained. Dr. Cook's research was recognized this year by her receiving Career Development Awards from the Research Preventing Blindness Foundation and the E. Matilda Ziegler Foundation for the Blind.
Dr. Nadean Brown's research investigates the regulation and function of the transcription factors Pax6, Math5 and Hes1. Our studies use the mouse, frog, chick and fruit fly model systems and are aimed at advancing our understanding of early eye specification, retinal ganglion cell formation and differentiation. The overall goal of these studies is to contribute information to the process of optic cup formation, optic nerve formation for potential therapeutic use in glaucoma, optic nerve aplasia/hypoplasia and diabetic conditions where the optic nerve is malformed or degenerated. Mouse mutations in either Pax6 or Hes1 cause microphthalmia. During the past year we created mice that lack both the Pax6 and Hes1 genes and found this causes severe anophthalmia and brain malformations. This finding will be the basis for a new line of research in the lab. Math5 is critically required for retinal ganglion cell and optic nerve formation and we continue to investigate both the regulation and function of this key gene. Our Math5 work is funded by an NIH R01 grant and the laboratory published five peer-reviewed papers with a sixth in revision. Dr. Brown, at an upcoming national Society for Developmental Biology meeting, will present recent data on the function of the Math5 gene. Dr. Brown contributed multiple lectures to the Neuroscience, Molecular and Developmental Biology and Medical Scientist and Physician Training PhD programs and served as an ad hoc grant reviewer for the National Eye Institute Biology and Diseases of the Posterior Eye Study section in February and June of 2005. In the past year, Dr. Brown was a peer reviewer for Developmental Biology, Evolution and Development and Developmental Dynamics scientific journals.
Dr. West and the division welcomes a new pediatric ophthalmologist, Dr. Dean Bonsall, to the medical center. He will meet the needs of the division bringing with him a wealth of education and experience from Penn State University.
