Feature
| The Research Matrix
physician Jill Wells, who also has
training in ocular pathology.
In addition, says Olsen, the
center’s team in orbital oncology
(for cancer that occurs around
the eye) includes oculoplastics
specialist Ted Wojno, Brent
Hayek and Joon Kim.
“All of this work,” he says,
“is supported by both internal
and external funding. So even
though eye cancer affects a much
smaller segment of the overall
population and has a lower
disease burden in the world, it
remains a priority for us because
of our extraordinary expertise.”
Another such example is
trachoma, which is uncommon
in the United States but highly
problematic in developing
countries. “Our global program,
Global Ophthalmology at Emory
[GO-Emory], with Danny
Haddad, Colin Beckwith, Paul
Courtright, and Susan Lewallen,
extends our existing areas of
expertise into high-impact
international work.”
Olsen says the research matrix
helped the group list its current
top five research priorities
(see box, page 4). Retinal
degeneration and optic nerve
disease are logical as first priority,
for example, because of growing
societal need, with age-related
macular degeneration currently
the leading cause of vision loss in
Americans 60 years and older.
Ultimately, the research
matrix helps us be good
stewards of our resources,
whether funding or talent, and
helps us keep focus on where we
need to be.
6 Emory Eye | 2015
Michael Iuvone’s laboratory studies the impact
of circadian rhythms on retinal function and
dysfunction. Here, he discusses results of a
retinal protein trafficking experiment with
post-doctoral fellow Anna Sargsyan.
Nancy Newman instructs on the
neurological aspects of vision.