2023 MERS poster
2023 Presentation abstracts
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15th Annual

2023 Midwest Eye Research Symposium

Supported by an unrestricted grant from Research to Prevent Blindness to the University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences


 

Keynote Speaker/Session Chairs

Bärbel Rohrer, PhD - Keynote Speaker
Dr. Rohrer is Professor of Ophthalmology and the SmartState Endowed Chair in Gene and Pharmaceutical Treatment of Retinal Degenerative Diseases at the Medical University of South Carolina (UMSC), a VA Research Scientist, founder of multiple start-up companies, and an academic leader in diseases of the retina.
Her lab investigates mechanisms of retinal degeneration and neuroprotection, focusing on targeting complement activation in models of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and improving mitochondrial homeostasis as a means to promote life-span in neurons. Dr. Rohrer was the first to show that the alternative pathway of complement can be targeted therapeutically, reducing both symptoms in wet and dry AMD.
Dr. Rohrer has published over well over 100 manuscripts and book chapters, received over 40 peer-reviewed grants, serves as editor or reviewer for many journals, and mentored over 50 trainees. She is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, a member of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), the Society for Neuroscience, and the International Society of Eye Research (ISER), which recently recognized her achievements with the Ernst H. Bárány Prize.

K. P. Connie Tam, PhD - Chair, Session I
Dr. Tam is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. Her lab's research focuses on understanding the innate defense and immunoregulatory functions of corneal epithelial cells. She discovered that the C-terminal fragments of a cytokeratin protein (K6) in corneal epithelial cells are antimicrobial, and that endogenous K6 regulates signaling pathways to control production of inflammatory mediators.

Natalia Vergara, PhD - Chair, Session II
Dr. Vergara is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at the Colorado University School of Medicine and the Director of the Ocular Development and Translational Technologies Laboratory at the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center. Her research is focused on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of human retina development and degeneration as well as developing stem cell-based disease models and technologies that facilitate the application of human retinal organoids to the development of novel therapeutic drugs. She is a serial winner of National Eye Institute's Challenge awards, having won the "Disease modeling" and "Drug screening" categories in 2022, and the "3D Retinal Organoid Challenge Award" in 2021.

Sheila A. Baker, PhD - Chair, Session III
Dr. Baker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Iowa. Research in her lab is centered on three different ion channels in photoreceptors (Cav1.4, HCN1, and Kv2.1/Kv8.2) and their contribution to photoreceptor health. She has mentored several successful students, served on multiple review panels, and is a past member of the Women in Science and Engineering Advisory Board, University of Iowa.

 

Program


Thursday, August 3, 2023

6 pm - Social Event Big Grove Brewery and Taproom
1225 S Gilbert St, Iowa City, IA 52240

Friday August 4, 2023

8:15-8:45Poster Set-up / Coffee
8:45-9 Opening Remarks
9-10 Platform Session I, Chaired by Dr. Tam
9:00-9:15Connie Tam:Epithelial cytokeratin 6a regulates secretory autophagy of cytokines to control corneal inflammation
9:15-9:30Jade Enright:The long noncoding RNA Gm11454 regulates retinal development
9:30-9:45Bryce Shonka:SOD2 in Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy: Friend or Foe?
9:45-10:00Noor-Us-Sabah Ahmad:Laser speckle flowgraphy shows reduced ocular blood flow in dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
10-11 Poster Session I/Coffee
11-12 Platform Session II, Chaired by Dr. Vergara
11:00-11:15Natalia Vergara:Modeling Alzheimer’s disease retinopathy with human iPSC-derived retinal organoids
11:15-11:30Evelyn Craigen:Cis-regulatory Element Activity in Temporal Regulation of Retinal Cell Fate
11:30-11:45Sarah Brumley:Reduced abundance of trabecular meshwork stem cells (TMSC) in human donor eyes with glaucoma
11:45-12:00Jade Harkin:Elucidating the influence of microglia on retinal ganglion cells in a human pluripotent stem cell model
12-1 Lunch
1-2 Platform Session III, Chaired by Dr. Baker
1:00-1:15Sheila Baker:KCNV2 Retinopathy: from eyeballs to atoms
1:15-1:30Alanna Sullivan:Novel nrf2 mutant zebrafish fail to regulate target genes and are susceptible to light-induced photoreceptor death
1:30-1:45Jordan Mayberry:Contribution of CD4 and CD8 cells to retinal ganglion cell loss in glaucoma
1:45-2:00Zachary Heinzman:Validation of the Iowa Head-Mounted Open-Source Perimeter
2-3 Poster Session II/Coffee
3-4 Keynote Address - Baerbel Rohrer, Ph.D.
Complement-Activation and Age-related Macular Degeneration: Lessons on Mechanisms and Treatments from Mouse Models
4-4:30 Recognition of Outstanding Presentations
4:30 Symposium adjourned

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Dr. Kuehn in advance at 319-335-9565.

For questions or comments please contact the MERS Committee

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