Samuel Herberg, PhD
ECM hydrogels for outflow tissue modeling
The research in Dr. Herberg’s Ocular Bioengineering laboratory is centered around understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying outflow tissue dysfunction in glaucoma, a blinding disease that affects millions of patients worldwide. His studies specifically focus on the trabecular meshwork and its interface with the Schlemm’s canal, the central functional unit of the conventional outflow tract. Dr. Herberg and his team investigate the role of cellular crosstalk, mechanobiological pathways, and epigenetic modifications in pathological tissue remodeling. Dr. Herberg has pioneered the use of bioengineered 3D extracellular matrix protein hydrogels for mechanistic studies in a soft tissue-like microenvironment. These biomimetic tissue replicas offer two key advantages compared to most other current in vitro model systems: 1) they better approximate the dynamic nature of the native outflow tissue microenvironment governed by complex cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions, and 2) their composition and mechanical properties can be dynamically tuned to facilitate accurate modeling of cellular, biomechanical, and biochemical behaviors in health and disease under controlled experimental conditions.
Location: 4609 Institute For Human Performance
Phone: (315) 464-7773
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Herberg received his B.S. in Biotechnology Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt, Germany, and his Ph.D. in Cellular Biology from Augusta University. He trained as NIH F32 postdoctoral fellow in Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University and Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine. Dr. Herberg joined the faculty in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences in 2018 as Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Associate Professor (with tenure) in 2025. To date, Dr. Herberg has obtained grant funding from the NIH/National Eye Institute (R01, Co-I R01, R21), Research to Prevent Blindness (Career Development Award; David Epstein Career Advancement Award in Glaucoma Research), and the BrightFocus Foundation (National Glaucoma Research Award, for which he also received “The Dr. Douglas H. Johnson Award” for the top-rated proposal in the program). Dr. Herberg was also the recipient of an inaugural Seed Grant from the BioInspired Institute at neighboring Syracuse University, where he holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering.
Since 2024, Dr. Herberg has been an elected member on the ARVO Annual Meeting Program Committee - Glaucoma Section and on the Syracuse University BioInspired Institute Executive Committee. Dr. Herberg is chairing the College of Graduate Studies - Graduate Student Recruitment Committee, and co-organizes the formal recruitment event hosted by the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences to attract the top students among the incoming 1st year Biomedical Sciences graduate student cohort. Dr. Herberg regularly serves as grant reviewer for the NIH “Imaging and Bioengineering Technology for Visual Systems” study section, as well as for intramural pilot grant and medical student research fellowship proposals. He reviews manuscripts for all top vision research journals, broad topic journals, and bioengineering journals. Lastly, Dr. Herberg routinely serves as conference session organizer and chair/moderator at the ISER Biennial Meeting, the ARVO Annual Meeting, and the ISER/BrightFocus Foundation Biennial Meeting.