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 […]

American Glaucoma Society: President Elect (2023); President (2024)

Congratulations! Carla Siegfried, MD, Jacquelyn E. and Allan E. Kolker, MD, Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences; Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Professionalism on being named 2023 President Elect and 2024 President of the American Glaucoma Society

Walk-In COVID 19 Boosters

Dear WashU Employees, In a continued effort to protect our community and the St. Louis region, Occupational Health Services will continue to host walk-in COVID-19 booster clinics for any WashU employee. The walk-in clinics will provide booster shots each Friday from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. throughout March, April and May at the Occupational Health Services […]

American Glaucoma Society: 2023 Bernard Schwartz Memorial Award Recipient!

Congratulations! Sharon Sabapathypillai, MD, MS, First-Year Resident, DOVS has been selected as a recipient of the 2023 Bernard Schwarz Memorial Award by the American Glaucoma Society for her abstract entitled “Evaluating At-Risk Driving Behaviors Using In-Car Telemetry in Older Drivers with Varying Glaucoma Severity“. This prestigious honor from the American Glaucoma Society includes: The Bernard […]

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 […]

Mid-America Transplant Grant Recipient!

Congratulations! Andrew Huang , MD, MPH, Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, on receiving a grant from Mid-America Transplant through a collaboration with CryoCrate entitled “Establishment of the First Limbal Tissue Bank in the World Based on a First-in-Class Biocompatible Cryopreservation Technology.” The Mid-America Transplant Foundation provides grants and scholarships to community organizations and students working to improve donation […]

Spring Update 2023

34th Annual Ophthalmology Spring Update Saturday, April 15, 20238:00 AM – 3:40 PM Farrell Learning and Teaching Center (FLTC)520 S Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, United States Agenda 8:00 AM—8:05 AM Opening Remarks 8:05 AM—8:35 AM “Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction Management” Gregg Lueder, MD Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis 8:35 AM—9:20 AM “The […]

Congratulations! Joseph Lin

Joseph Lin

Joseph Lin, MSTP Student in the Apte Lab has just published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) entitled “Dry Eye Disease in Mice Activates Adaptive Corneal Epithelial Regeneration Distinct from Constitutive Renewal in Homeostasis” Joseph, along with additional faculty members of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences discuss […]

New Faculty Member

Please welcome, Takeshi Yoshimatsu, PhD, to the DOVS Research Faculty team as the new Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. Dr. Yoshimatsu who joined our team on November 14, 2022 has a MSc and PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Tokyo, Japan, as well as Postdoctoral Training in Neuroscience. Additional academic training includes: […]

Thach Award Recipient

Zelun Wang

Congratulations to Zelun Wang, MSTP MD/PhD student from the Apte Lab; and co-mentored by Dr. Philip Williams, on receiving the Thach Award in Neuroscience for his Short Talk entitled “Energetic Diversity of Retinal Ganglion Cells and Implications for Neurodegeneration” The Tom Thach Award was initiated in 2014 to honor the contributions to science and the […]

Dr. Margaret Reynolds Rising Star

Congratulations to Dr. Margaret Reynolds, who has been recognized as a Rising Star by the Missouri Athletic Club at the annual Women of Distinction luncheon. The Rising Star is someone 35 years of age or younger who is leading the next generation of professional women to new heights.  Read More

Goniotomy: What Size Is Best?

Congratulations Dr. Erin Sieck on her recent talk entitled “A Millenial’s Approach to the Angle; I prefer partial goniotomy for its ease and efficiency, established efficiency, and lower rate of complications compared to total goniotomy Erin Sieck, MD