Vision research by CVR faculty is wide ranging and covers the following active and exciting areas:
Ocular Tissue Diseases
Basic and clinical studies of glaucoma, lens-dislocating disorders, and related diseases of ocular connective tissues utilize methods of ocular pathology, electron microscopy and immunochemistry. Defective expression of structural glycoproteins is helping to identify basic mechanisms in these disorders.
Major research questions:
Do open-angle glaucomas and pseudoexfoliation have shared molecular mechanisms? Is the elastic tissue of the trabecular meshwork really elastic? Do variations in synthesis of fibrillin and its associated glycoproteins underlie different functions of the elastic microfibril system? What is the role of the capsule in zonular fiber adhesion to lens capsule? Is there abnormal expression of other matrix proteins besides fibrillin in lens-dislocating diseases? Could many of the major corneal dystrophies be manifestations of a single mutated protein?
Basic and clinical studies of inherited retinal diseases of which the various forms of retinitis pigmentosa are the most prevalent. Focus will be on uncovering the molecular mechanisms underlying these blinding diseases and developing gene therapies to alleviate them. Research will use molecular biological techniques and rely heavily on the large patient file of the Department of Ophthalmology.
Major research questions:
Can gene therapies counteract specific forms of inherited retinal diseases? How do mutations in rhodopsin affect its activation and inactivation? How do mutations in photoreceptor proteins impair retinal function and lead to cell death? Can we degrade the codes (mRNAs) for mutant retinal proteins? What is the molecular origin of "dark noise" in the visual system? Will transgenic Xenopus provide a faster, cleaner method of studying rhodopsin mutations? Can antisense or ribozyme approaches lower rhodopsin expression levels? Having isolated a rod promoter for transgenic Xenopus, can we do the same for a cone promoter? (probably yes)
Investigations of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead from the light activation of visual pigments to the generation of optic nerve signals. Areas of research include the evolution, structure and activation of rod and cone visual pigments; properties of transducin; cellular mechanisms of the circadian, hormonal and efferent modulation of the retina.
Major research questions:
How is the structure of the eye's light sensitive pigment related to their function? What genes express the molecules involved in the eye's sensitivity to light? How do biological clocks control our visual sensitivity? How do biological clocks regulate gene expression in the retina? What molecular mechanisms underlie the daily rhythms of the visual system?
Investigations of the mechanisms that encode and integrate visual information in the retina and central visual pathways. Emphasis will be on understanding the neural mechanisms that underlie visual perception and behavior.
Major research questions:
What information does the eye send to the brain when an animal sees? How do neurons in the brain control visual attention? How does the visual system efficiently encode natural scenes? Does our vision change with time of day? Do changes in our metabolism change how we see? How do efferent pathways in the visual system influence vision? What neural mechanisms underlie letter identification? Does glucose or time of day change the activity of the visual parts of our brain?
S U N Y Upstate Medical University
Content maintained by: Carol Miller
All contents copyright 2005, SUNY Upstate Medical University
Last Modified:May 21, 2008.
Faculty