My research goal is to understand the pathology of the trabecular meshwork (TM) and the optic nerve head (ONH) in glaucoma. The TM is the main dynamic resistor that regulates the aqueous humor outflow and causes elevated intraocular pressure in the anterior chamber of the eye. This elevated pressure is transduced toward the back of the eye and results in a remodeling of the ONH. The ONH is the resident of two types of cells, ONH astrocytes and lamina cribrosa cells (LC). ONA and LC cells have been implicated in the pathophysiology of glaucoma.
I focus primarily on growth factors and their signaling pathways to determine if they alter mRNA and protein expression of the TM and the ONH cells. I wish to understand the roles of these growth factors in normal tissue and in the glaucoma pathophysiology.