Bascom Palmer Eye Institute’s faculty is dedicated to the creation of new knowledge and technology and its rapid translation into the clinic to help patients. Our mission is to make this happen through innovative research. We strive to be the nation’s pre-eminent research center for the advancement of medicine and technology to conquer eye disease and prevent blindness.
Bascom Palmer Researchers
Mohamed Abou Shousha, M.D., Ph.D.
Roles: Associate Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Artificial Intelligence and Computer Augmented Vision
Vision Science Focus: Corneal Diseases, such as Keratoconus, Dry Eye Syndrome, Corneal Graft Rejection and Failure, and Fuchs Dystrophy
Sanjoy K. Bhattacharya, Ph.D.
Roles: Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Neurodegenerative Disease and Vision
Vision Science Focus: Neurodegenerative Diseases of the Eye, Glaucoma, Multiple Sclerosis and Vision, Learning & Behavior
Delia Cabrera DeBuc, Ph.D.
Roles: Research Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Quantitative Ophthalmic Imaging and Artificial Intelligence Applications
Vision Science Focus: Diabetic Retinopathy, Neurodegenerative Diseases of the Eye such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson Disease, and Multiple Sclerosis
Giovanni Gregori, Ph.D.
Roles: Research Associate Professor and Scientific Co-Director of The Experimental Imaging Laboratory
Research Subject: Quantitative Ophthalmic Imaging
Vision Science Focus: Retinal Imaging, Image Processing, Optical Coherence Tomography, Mathematical Modeling of Retinal Morphology and Disease Processes
Abigail S. Hackam, Ph.D.
Roles: Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Cellular Mechanisms of Retinal Development, Degeneration and Tumorigenesis
Vision Science Focus: Retinal Degeneration, Macular Degeneration, Retinoblastoma
Dmitry V. Ivanov, Ph.D.
Roles: Research Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Molecular Mechanisms of Sterile Inflammation, Mechanisms that cells use when determining their fate during retinal development
Vision Science Focus: Retinal Degeneration, Retinal Development, Regenerative Medicine
Stefan Kurtenbach, Ph.D.
Roles: Research Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Subject: How genomic aberrations foster tumor development
Vision Science Focus: Genomics and Ocular Oncology
Richard K. Lee, M.D., Ph.D.
Roles: Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Cellular Pathophysiology of Glaucoma
Vision Science Focus: Glaucoma and Neuroprotection
Yiwen Li, M.D.
Roles: Research Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Photoreceptor Cell Biology, Retinal Degeneration, Retinal Neuroprotection, Retinal Vascular Disorders
Vision Science Focus: Photoreceptor Degeneration, Photoreceptor Neuroprotection, Choroidal Neovascularization, and Diabetic Retinopathy
Fabrice Manns, Ph.D.
Roles: Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Biomedical Optics, Lasers, and Imaging
Vision Science Focus: Optics of the Eye and Vision Correction, Mechanism of Accommdation and Presbyopia
Darlene Miller, D.H.Sc., M.P.H., C.I.C.
Roles: Research Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Epidemiology and Pathology of Ocular Infectious Diseases
Vision Science Focus: Social Biology and Networking Among Ocular Microbial Communities
Jean-Marie Parel, Ing.ETS-G, Ph.D., FARVO
Roles: Research Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Henri and Flore Lesieur Chair in Ophthalmology, and Director of Ophthalmic Biophysics Center
Research Subject: Lasers and Devices
Vision Science Focus: Corneal Disease, Cataract, Glaucoma, Retinal Disease
Daniel Pelaez, Ph.D.
Roles: Research Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Neurodegenerative Diseases, Endogenous Repair Mechanisms, Stem/Progenitor Cell Biology
Vision Science Focus: Optic and Retinal Neuropathies, Progenitor Cell Neurogenesis, Axonal Guidance; Corneal/Ocular Surface Stem Cells; Orbital Tumors and Cancer
Vittorio Porciatti, D.Sc.
Roles: Professor of Ophthalmology, Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering Director, Vice Chairman of Research, and James L. Knight Professorship in Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Prevention of Visual Dysfunction
Vision Science Focus: Visual Neurophysiology, Optic Neuropathies
Marco Ruggeri, Ph.D.
Roles: Research Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Instrumentation and quantitative imaging technologies for diagnostic and surgical applications in ophthalmology, including corneal, cataract, glaucoma, pediatric and retinal diseases
Vision Science Focus: Optical Imaging and Instrumentation, Optical Coherence Tomography, Ocular Biometry, Optics, Accommodation
Alfonso L. Sabater, M.D., Ph.D.
Roles: Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Corneal and Ocular Surface Diseases
Vision Science Focus: Corneal endothelium regeneration. Ocular surface reconstruction by tissue engineering and 3-D printing. Translational biological therapies for corneal and ocular surface diseases.
Valery I. Shestopalov, Ph.D.
Roles: Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Neurobiology of Retinal Disease, Innate Immune Responses and Neuroinflammation in Glaucoma, Glia-neuron Crosstalk, Ocular Surface Microbiome
Vision Science Focus: Inflammasome-mediated dysfunction and loss of Retinal Ganglion Cells in Glaucoma and other Optic Neuropathies. Microbial Ecology of the Ocular Surface
Luis E. Vazquez, M.D., Ph.D.
Roles: Assistant Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Neuroscience, Molecular Biology, and Biochemistry
Vision Science Focus: Pathophysiology of Glaucoma
Jianhua (Jay) Wang, M.D., Ph.D., M.S.
Roles: Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Ophthalmic imaging and its clinical applications
Vision Science Focus: Ocular Imaging, Image Processing, Optical Imaging, Functional Imaging, Anterior and Posterior Imaging, Human and Animal Imaging, and the image marker in the eye as a window to the brain
Rong Wen, M.D., Ph.D.
Roles: Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Photoreceptor Degeneration, Age-Related Macula Degeneration, Diabetic Retinopathy
Vision Science Focus: Retinal Degeneration and Vascular Disorders
Hong Yu, Ph.D.
Roles: Research Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Research Subject: Genetic therapy for human optic neuropathy and mitochondrial disease
Vision Science Focus: Inherited retinopathies