Congratulations Viviana Barquet, MD!

Viviana Barquet

Viviana Barquet, MD selected for The TGF (sponsored by Patricia Hill) / RPB Fellowship in Glaucoma In a collaboration, The Glaucoma Foundation (TGF) and Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) have joined forces to champion diversity and innovation in the field of glaucoma research. This strategic partnership has selected Viviana Barquet, MD, as one of the […]

Catalyst Award for Innovative Research Approaches for AMD

Rajendra Apte, MD, PhD

We are thrilled to announce that Rajendra Apte, MD, PhD has recently been awarded a $300,000 Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB)/American Macular Degeneration Foundation (AMDF) Catalyst Award for Innovative Research Approaches for AMD. This prestigious award serves as a testament to Dr. Apte’s commitment to advancing knowledge in the field of ophthalmology, particularly in the […]

Isabella Gomes Awarded Prestigious Research Fellowship!

In the ever-changing world of medical research, breakthroughs often emerge from the synergy of passion, intellect, and mentorship. One exciting project currently taking place in the Chen and Rajagopal Labs, where Isabella Gomes is set to embark on a groundbreaking journey! Isabella recently received the Research to Prevent Blindness/Janssen Medical Student Eye Research Fellowship. This […]

Carl Marshall & Mildred Almen Reeves Foundation Award Recipient!

Rajendra Apte, MD, PhD

Congratulations Dr. Apte! Rajendra Apte, MD, PhD, Paul A. Cibis Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences received an award from the Carl Marshall & Mildred Almen Reeves Foundation entitled ‘Cross-tissue Receptor Ligand Interactions to Identify Novel Targets in Neovascular AMD’. This grant will be used to fund studies that help us identify novel therapeutic targets […]

NIH RO1 Sub Award Grant Recipient!

Congratulations Dr. Ferguson! Dr. Ferguson recently received a sub award from a R01 that Dr. Vladimir Kefalov at the university of California, Irvine received entitled “Modulation of cone photoreceptor function by autophagy”. Autophagy is an intracellular process that supports cell survival through the recycling of macromolecular complexes by the removal of nonfunctional and potentially toxic […]

Innovative Research Unveils Potential Breakthrough in Diabetic Retinopathy Treatment

Diabetic retinopathy, a major concern for individuals with diabetes, has long been associated with the risk of vision loss and blindness. This condition, driven in part by the actions of retinal immune cells known as microglia, takes a significant toll on those it affects. In a groundbreaking publication, Charles Pfeifer, PhD, from the laboratory of […]

NIH RO1 Grant Recipient!

Congratulations Dr. Siegfried! Carla Siegfried, MD, Jacquelyn E. and Allan E. Kolker, MD, Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences received a new NIH RO1 Grant entitled ‘Racial disparities of open-angle glaucoma: A study of mitochondria and oxidative stress in human trabecular meshwork’.  Glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness worldwide and frequent cause of visual […]

National Postdoc Appreciation Week 2023

Thank you for everything that you do! We would like to acknowledge and celebrate the hard work and impressive accomplishments of our postdoctoral appointees at Washington University. The contributions of our postdocs are an integral part of the world-class education and research at Washington University. Their energy and talent are vital to our thriving and […]

Congratulations Charles Pfeifer, PhD

Congratulations to Charles Pfeifer on successfully defending your thesis! You have worked hard to achieve this significant milestone in your academic career.

2023 Unrestricted Grant from Research to Prevent Blindness

The Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis John F. Hardesty, MD Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences has been granted an Unrestricted Grant by Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) in the amount of $115,000 a year to support eye research conducted by the Department of Ophthalmology. This funding has been awarded based on […]

Congratulations Takeshi Yoshimatsu, PhD

Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) is pleased to announce that Takeshi Yoshimatsu, PhD, of the Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine has been granted a $350,000 RPB Career Development Award to support eye research. The support is provided over a four-year period. The RPB Career Development Award was established in 1990 to support […]

2023 Winston Fellow Award Recipient

Congratulations to Sean McCracken, winner of the Inaugural Winston Fellow Competition. Sean McCracken from the Williams Lab presented “Diversity in homeostatic calcium set points predicts retinal ganglion cell survival following optic nerve injury in vivo” In December 2022, David (A&S ‘74) and Deborah Winston made a generous gift to establish the Winston Fellow Award in […]

ARVO 2023 Presenters

Two doctors in the research lab looking at petri dish

Rajendra Apte, MD, PhD Presentation “Laser Therapy/Surgery” Jason Colasanti Poster “C0352: MiR-34a promotes choroidal neovascularization through modulating the KLF2/CXCR4 axis” Isabella Gomes Poster “C0448: Phenotypic heterogeneity in a family with a late Cone-Rod Homeobox truncation mutation” Mae Gordon, PhD Presentation “How to minimize bias”Poster “B0166: Prediction model of visual field progression in the Ocular Hypertension […]

Clinical trials | Use of Imaging on Retina to Identify Alzheimer’s

A noninvasive test may screen for disease before symptoms begin. Dr. Van Stavern is using retinal imaging as a window to the brain to develop a more accessible and affordable screening tool for Alzheimer’s disease that could become part of a routine eye exam. The retina and central nervous system are so interconnected that changes in […]

Global Impact | Capacity Building for Medical Research in Africa

I am a new research faculty in the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, started last November. My research aims to uncover the molecular and cellular basis of the regional specializations in the retina and understand why certain retinal diseases cause degeneration in specific regions such as age-related macular degeneration in the central eye and […]

Translating Science to Medicine | Tunable Gene Therapy

Gene therapy has been used in clinical trials to treat several types of inherited retinal degenerative diseases. Dr. Shiming Chen’s Lab aims to overcome the limitations of the current gene therapy technology by developing a new strategy called “tunable gene therapy” that has the ability to target diseases linked to mutations.  The tunable gene therapy strategy […]

Congratulations! Joseph Lin

Joseph Lin

Joseph Lin, MTSP Student in the Apte Lab has received the 2023 National Eye Institute (NEI) ARVO Travel Grant. This awarded travel grant in the amount of $750, will cover Joseph’s meeting registration and provide partial travel support to attend and present at the ARVO 2023 Annual Meeting which will be held April23-27 in New […]

R01 Grant Renewal

Congratulations! Steven Bassnett, PhD, Grace Nelson Lacy Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science on the renewal of the R01 grant entitled “Structural, Mechanical, and Cell Biological Properties of the Ciliary Zonule.” (grant ID R01EY029130). The Research Project Grant (R01) is the original and historically oldest grant mechanism used by NIH. The R01 provides support […]