# eyeNews July/August 2014 July 01, 2014 ![eyeNews](/sites/g/files/omnuum9886/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/eye/files/eye-news_0.png?itok=MM1lJ0ar) [NEWS](#news) | [HONORS, AWARDS & GRANTS](#honors) | [PHILANTHROPY](#philanthropy) | [PRESS](#press) | [RECENT PUBLICATIONS](#pub) | [CALENDAR](/events/calendar) **Welcome Aboard Trainees!** Our department is off to another great start for the 2014-2015 academic year. As we welcome new talent into our department—eight ophthalmology residents, one optometry resident, and many clinical and research fellows—I want to acknowledge the tremendous value that our trainees bring to every aspect of our mission. Your enthusiasm and curiosity infuse our community with new possibilities and opportunities each year, and keep us on the cusp of innovating the latest ideas, advancements and treatments for eye diseases. Thank you in advance for your contributions, and we look forward to a wonderful year of fruitful exchange. **Ophthalmology Residents**: • Durga Borkar, MD • Eric Gaier, MD, PhD • Rohini Rao, MD • James (Tony) Stefater, MD, PhD • Tomasz (Tommy) Stryjewski, MD • Zeba Syed, MD • Tavé van Zyl, MD • Natalie Wolkow, MD, PhD **Optometry Resident: •** Glen Ong, OD **Clinical Fellows:** *Cornea, Refractive Surgery, and External Disease •* Sunali Goyal, MBBS *•* Haumith Khan-Farooqi, MD • Silvia Odorcic, MD • Hajirah Saeed, MD *Glaucoma* • Samantha Dewundara, MD • Ann (Holly) Guy, MD • Shivani Kamat, MD *Neuro-ophthalmology* • Nailyn Rasool, MD • Crandall Peeler, MD • Katherine Boudreault, MD *Ocular Immunology and Uveitis* • Victoria Chang, MD *Ophthalmic Pathology* • Anna Michelle Stagner, MD *Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery* • Lora Dagi Glass, MD *Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus* *(Mass. Eye and Ear/Children’s)* • Charlotte Gore, MD • Loay Eldweik, MB ChB • Pavlina Kemp, MD *Retina: Clinical Medical Retina and Research* • Athanasios Papakostas, MD *Retina: Inherited Retinal Degenerations •* Brian Hafler, MD *Retina: Medical Retina* • Hilary Brader, MD *Retina: Medical Retina* *(Joslin Diabetes Center)* • Marwan Abdulaal, MD • Radwan Ajlan, MBBCh *Retina: Surgery and Diseases of the Retina and Vitreous* • Yewlin Chee, MD • Dong (Dawn) Yang, MD • Mira Sachdeva, MD, PhD *Retina: Vision Rehabilitation* • Anuradha Mishra, MD As a final note, the next issue of *eyeNews* will come out in September 2014. As always, we encourage you to email us with your news so that we can celebrate each other’s accomplishments and improve communication channels throughout our department. Joan W. Miller, MD, FARVO Henry Willard Williams Professor of Ophthalmology Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School Chief of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital Sort **COMING UP:** **Cornea Center of Excellence Visiting Professor** **September 18-19, 2014** **SAVE THE DATE: The Symposium on Ocular Regeneration: Cell Therapy and Regeneration in the Retina October 23, 2014 **SAVE THE DATE: 3rd International Biennial Symposium on Age-Related Macular Degeneration October 24- 25, 2014** ## HMS Ophthalmology News **Congratulations to our Department of Ophthalmology Graduates!** Graduation festivities took place on June 26 with a ceremony held in Meltzer Auditorium that brought together family, friends and faculty to recognize and congratulate the 31 residents and clinical fellows in the HMS and Mass. Eye and Ear Department of Ophthalmology Class of 2014. Click here for more information about graduation, including the 2014 Evangelos Gragoudas Prize winners, Teacher of the Year award recipients, and more. **Are You “LinkedIn”?** Mass. Eye and Ear is growing its online presence using the professional network, LinkedIn, and we need your help. Physicians with LinkedIn accounts are encouraged to [follow the Mass. Eye and Ear company page](http://www.linkedin.com/company/mass-eye-and-ear) and share news and announcements with their patients. For those who are not registered users, now is a good time to [sign up](https://www.linkedin.com/); registration is free. In addition to staying abreast of best practices in the field and developing a strong career network, LinkedIn is a great tool for managing your online reputation. **Free Money-Reading Device Assists Blind and Visually Impaired** The Bureau of Engraving and Printing announced that [free currency reader devices will be available to blind and visually impaired persons as part of an initiative to make U.S. currency more accessible](http://www.bep.gov/images/Press_Release_US_Currency_Reader_Program.pdf). The program kicks off in July at National Federation of the Blind, American Council of the Blind and Blinded Veterans of America summer conventions. In September, members of the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped will be able to pre-order a currency reader. In January 2015, currency readers will be widely available to U.S. citizens or persons legally residing in the United States who are blind or visually impaired. Please keep this program in mind for patients who may benefit from it. **Camp Harbor View Eye Screenings a Success** Once again, members of the department provided comprehensive eye exams to children and leaders-in-training at Camp Harbor View. Of the 113 screened, 20 were advised to see their own providers to address refractive errors and 17 were advised to seek follow-up by a pediatric ophthalmologist—two of whom needed urgent follow up. Camp Harbor View is an initiative of the not-for-profit Camp Harbor View Foundation, Inc. in partnership with the City of Boston and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston. The camp offers close to 800 children—ages 11 to 14 and living in Boston’s at-risk neighborhoods—the opportunity to participate in a four-week program offering traditional “summer camp” activities such as hiking, arts and crafts, sports and swimming. **Sixth Annual Mass. Eye and Ear Golf Classic Raised $267,000** The sixth annual Mass. Eye and Ear Golf Classic, held June 23 at the Weston Golf Club and co-chaired by John Loewenstein, raised $267,000 this year for patient care and research, bringing the six-year total up to $1.3 million. In addition to a great day on the course, golfers had the opportunity to have their photo taken with the World Series trophies and meet with Michael McKone, a two-time U.S. Blind Golf Association Champion whose vision was restored with a Boston Keratoprosthesis. **Mass. Eye and Ear and Mass General Ophthalmology Receive Top Ranking** Once again, Mass. Eye and Ear / Mass General Hospital Department of Ophthalmology ranked #4 in the nation, according to the latest *[U.S. News & World Report’s ](http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/ophthalmology)*[“Best Hospitals” survey](http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/ophthalmology). [Return to top](#top) ## Honors, Awards & Grants On July 17, the **Massachusetts Lions Eye Research Foundation (MLERF)** generously awarded research grants to several HMS Ophthalmology affiliates and partner institutions during their annual awards dinner hosted this year by Joslin Diabetes Center: - **Mass Eye and Ear:** $183,000 - **Schepens Eye Research Institute:** $183,000 - **Boston Children’s Hospital:** $142,000 - **Joslin Diabetes Center:** $183,000 - **Boston University School of Medicine:** $183,000 - **Tufts University School of Medicine:** $110,000 In addition, the MLERF Presidential Grant was awarded to **Mass. Eye and Ear** based on a proposal submitted by **Janey Wiggs**. This $100,000 grant will be used to purchase a new automated DNA sequencer (MiSeq) that will greatly improve the capacity and efficiency of the Ocular Genomics Institute’s diagnostic genetic testing service, for which Dr. Wiggs serves as director. Members of our department received the top three honors at this year’s New England Ophthalmological Society Resident and Fellow Poster Competition held on May 30, 2014. Congratulations to first place winner,**Michael Wan** (Boston Children’s Hospital, recently completed his fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus), second place winner, **Marie-Claude Robert** (Mass. Eye and Ear, current fellow in cornea), and third place winner, **Yoshihiro Yonekawa** (HMS Ophthalmology, recently completed his ophthalmology residency). Honorable mentions went to **Aubrey Gilbert** (HMS Ophthalmology, current ophthalmology resident) and **Emily Deschler** (Joslin Diabetes Center, recently completed her fellowship in medical retina). Three Mass. Eye and Ear/Schepens researchers received grants from the BrightFocus Foundation for their pioneering work in the areas of macular degeneration and glaucoma. **Neena Haider** was awarded a $120,000 grant to pursue the [development of a new genetic model for choroidal neovascular (wet) AMD](http://www.brightfocus.org/research/grants/migrated/genetic-model-of-choroidal-neovascular-amd.html) with co-principal investigator **Kip Connor**. **Andrius Kazlauskas** was awarded a $120,000 grant to[ test his hypothesis that one of the causes of AMD is the inability of the eye to cope with cellular stress](http://www.brightfocus.org/research/grants/migrated/htra1-protein-folding-stress-in-retinal-pigment-epithelium.html). And **Baojian Fan** received $100,000 to [track down the genes that cause Pigment Dispersion Syndrome and pigmentary glaucoma ](http://www.brightfocus.org/research/grants/migrated/discovery-of-pigmentary-dispersion-syndrome-genes-exome-sequencing.html)with co-principal investigator **Janey Wiggs**. The American Thyroid Association awarded **Leo Kim** a research grant totaling $57,500 for his project, "Animal Models of Acute and Chronic Thyroid Eye Disease." Congratulations to **Pablo Argueso**, who received a HMS Academy Certificate of Excellence in Tutoring. Congratulations to **Janey Wiggs** on acceptance of her thesis with election to active membership in the American Ophthalmological Society. **Russell Woods** received a three year renewal exceeding $1.9 million from the National Eye Institute for his project entitled, “Watching Television and Movies with Low Vision.” Russell has been continuously funded for this project since July 2008. [Return to top](#top) ## Philanthropy A gift of $30,000 from **Stealth Peptides, Inc.** for diabetic retinopathy research by Dr. Mara Lorenzi. An anonymous gift of $600,000 for Teresa Chen’s program. [Return to top](#top) ## Press **Eye Disease—Eyephone!:** June 19, 2014 (*The News International*) Researchers at Mass. Eye and Ear described the relatively simple technique of fundus photography in human and rabbit eyes using a smartphone, an inexpensive app for the smartphone, and instruments that are readily available. **[A Way to Regrow Corneal Tissue](http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/07/new-way-to-regrow-human-corneas/?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=07.03.daily%20(1)):** June 2, 2014 (*Harvard Gazette*) & **[New Corneas Regrown From Stem Cells](http://health.msn.co.nz/healthnews/8870683/human-corneas-regrown-from-adult-stem-cells):** July 7, 2014 (*MSN*) A collaboration among the Harvard-affiliated Mass. Eye and Ear/Schepens, Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the VA Boston Healthcare System led to the identification of a new way to help regrow human corneal tissue to restore vision, using a molecule that acts as a marker for hard-to-find stem cells. **[New Devices Eyed As Medical Breakthrough](http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/07/new_devices_eyed_as_medical_breakthrough):** July 16, 2014 (*Boston Herald)* “Smart” contact lenses being developed by Google and Novartis, and by Mass. Eye and Ear and Boston Children’s Hospital, may offer a way for people to monitor their health. Joseph Ciolino is quoted. [Return to top](#top) ## Recent Publications **(JUNE 2014)** **Chan CY, Papakostas TD, Vavvas DG**. [Evaluating choroidal thickness in diabetic retinopathy.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25028530) *Clin Ophthalmol* – 2014 Jun 24 **Cohen LP, Pasquale LR.** [Clinical characteristics and current treatment of glaucoma.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24890835) *Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine* – 2014 Jun **Ehrenberg M, Nihalani BR,** Melvin P, Cain CE, **Hunter DG, Dagi LR.** [Goal-determined metrics to assess outcomes of esotropia surgery.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24924270) *Journal of American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus –* 2014 Jun Engel JM, Guyton DL, **Hunter DG.** [Adjustable sutures in children](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24924284). *Journal of American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus –* 2014 Jun **Field MG, Alasil T, Baniasadi N, Que C, Simavli H, Sobeih D, Sola-Del Valle D,** Best MJ, **Chen TC.**[Facilitating glaucoma diagnosis with intereye retinal nerve fiber layer asymmetry using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24921896) *Journal of Glaucoma –* 2014 Jun 11 **Gilbert AL, Jakobiec FA, Chodosh J, Eliott D**. [A comparison of retrokeratoprosthetic membrane and conjunctival inflammatory responses to silicone oil.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25006353) *The Journal of Ophthalmic Inflammation and Infection –*2014 Jun 26 **Gipson IK, Spurr-Michaud S, Tisdale A, Menon BB.** [Comparison of the transmembrane mucins MUC1 and MUC16 in epithelial barrier function.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24968021) *PLoS One.* 2014 – Jun 26 **Grob SR, Jakobiec FA, Rashid A, Yoon MK.** [Chalazia associated with bortezomib therapy for multiple myeloma](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24974380). *Ophthalmology* – 2014 Jun 25 **Gupta M, Leskov I, Kruger JM, Cestari DM.** [Intermittent Horner syndrome in a pediatric patient](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24135969). *Journal ofNeuroophthalmology* – 2014 Jun Kang JH, **Loomis SJ**, Yaspan BL, Bailey JC, Weinreb RN, Lee RK, Lichter PR, Budenz DL, Liu Y, Realini T, Gaasterland D, Gaasterland T, Friedman DS, McCarty CA, Moroi SE, Olson L, Schuman JS, Singh K, Vollrath D, Wollstein G, Zack DJ, Brilliant M, Sit AJ, Christen WG, Fingert J, Forman JP, Buys ES, Kraft P, Zhang K, Allingham RR, Pericak-Vance MA, Richards JE, Hauser MA, Haines JL, **Wiggs JL, Pasquale LR**.[Vascular tone pathway polymorphisms in relation to primary open-angle glaucoma.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24603425) *Eye* – 2014 Jun **Kwon M,** Lu ZL, **Miller A, Kazlas M, Hunter DG, Bex PJ.** [Assessing binocular interaction in amblyopia and its clinical feasibility.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24959842) *PLoS One.* 2014 – Jun 24 Lundgren P, Wilde A, Löfqvist C, **Smith LE,** Hård AL, Hellström A. [Weight at first detection of retinopathy of prematurity predicts disease severity.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24963022) *British Journal of Ophthalmology –* 2014 Jun 24 **Ma J,** Mehta M, **Lam G, Cyr D, Ng TF, Hirose T,** Tawansy KA, Taylor AW, **Lashkari K.** [Influence of subretinal fluid in advanced stage retinopathy of prematurity on proangiogenic response and cell proliferation](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24966660).*Molecular Vision –* 2014 Jun 21 **Qazi Y, Aggarwal S, Hamrah P**. [Image-guided evaluation and monitoring of treatment response in patients with dry eye disease](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24696045). *Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol* – 2014 Jun Ratnapriya R, Zhan X, Fariss RN, Branham KE, Zipprer D, Chakarova CF, Sergeev YV, Campos MM, Othman M, Friedman JS, Maminishkis A, Waseem NH, Brooks M, Rajasimha HK, Edwards AO, Lotery A, Klein BE, Truitt BJ, Li B, **Schaumberg DA**, Morgan DJ, Morrison MA, Souied E, Tsironi EE, Grassmann F, Fishman GA, Silvestri G, Scholl HP, **Kim IK,** Ramke J, Tuo J, Merriam JE, Merriam JC, Park KH, Olson LM, Farrer LA, Johnson MP, Peachey NS, Lathrop M, Baron RV, Igo RP Jr, Klein R, Hagstrom SA, Kamatani Y, Martin TM, Jiang Y, Conley Y, Sahel JA, Zack DJ, Chan CC, Pericak-Vance MA, Jacobson SG, Gorin MB, Klein ML, Allikmets R, Iyengar SK, Weber BH, Haines JL, Léveillard T, Deangelis MM, Stambolian D, Weeks DE, Bhattacharya SS, Chew EY, Heckenlively JR, Abecasis GR, Swaroop A. [Rare and common variants in extracellular matrix gene Fibrillin 2 (FBN2) are associated with macular degeneration.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24899048)*Human Molecular Genetics –* 2014 Jun 4 **Sandberg MA**, Pearce EN, **Harper S**, **Weigel-DiFranco C**, **Hart L**, **Rosner B**, **Berson EL**. [The relationship of central foveal thickness to urinary iodine concentration in retinitis pigmentosa with or without cystoid macular edema](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24993773). *JAMA Ophthalmol* *–* 2014 Jul 3 Scarcelli G, Besner S, **Pineda R,** Yun SH. [Biomechanical characterization of keratoconus corneas ex vivo with Brillouin microscopy.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24938517) *Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science –* 2014 Jun 17 Seo Y, Ji YW, **Lee SM,** Shim J, Noh H, Yeo A, Park C, Park MS, Chang EJ, Lee HK. [Activation of HIF-1α (hypoxia inducible factor-1α) prevents dry eye-induced acinar cell death in the lacrimal gland.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24967971) *Cell Death and Disease –* 2014 Jun 26 **Sriram S**, Gibson DJ, Robinson P, Pi L, Tuli S, Lewin AS, Schultz G. [Assessment of anti-scarring therapies in ex vivo organ cultured rabbit corneas.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24971495) *Experimental Eye Research* – 2014 Jun 24 **Sun D,** Nakao S**, Xie F,** Zandi S, Bagheri A, Rezaei Kanavi M, Samiei S, Soheili ZS, Frimmel S, Zhang Z, Ablonczy Z, Ahmadieh H, Hafezi-Moghadam A. [Molecular imaging reveals elevated VEGFR-2 expression in retinal capillaries in diabetes: a novel biomarker for early diagnosis.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24903276) *FASEB Journal* 2014 – Jun 5. **Swaminathan SS, Oh DJ, Kang MH,** Shepard AR, Pang IH, Rhee DJ. [TGF-β2-mediated ocular hypertension is attenuated in SPARC-null mice.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24906856) *Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science –* 2014 Jun Uchino Y, Uchino M, Yokoi N, Dogru M, Kawashima M, Okada N, Inaba T, Tamaki S, Komuro A, Sonomura Y, Kato H, **Argüeso P,** Kinoshita S, Tsubota K. [Alteration of tear mucin 5AC in office workers using visual display terminals: the Osaka study.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24903353) *JAMA Ophthalmology* – 2014 Jun 5 **Van Tyne D, Gilmore MS.** [Friend turned foe: evolution of Enterococcal virulence and antibiotic resistance.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25002090)*Annual Review of Microbiology* – 2014 Jun 18 **Wan MJ, Adebona O,** Benson LA, Gorman MP, **Heidary G.** [Visual outcomes in pediatric optic neuritis.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24907434)*American Journal of Ophthalmology* – 2014 Jun 5 **Wen XH,** Dizhoor AM, **Makino CL.** [Membrane guanylyl cyclase complexes shape the photoresponses of retinal rods and cones.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24917784) *Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience –* 2014 Jun Wentworth BA, Freitas-Neto CA, **Foster CS.** [Management of pediatric uveitis.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24991418) *F1000Prime Reports –* 2014 Jun 2 West CE, **Hunter DG.** [Displacement of optical centers in over-the-counter readers: a potential cause of diplopia.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24767829) *Journal of American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus –* 2014 Jun **Yang S, MacKinnon S, Dagi LR, Hunter DG.** [Superior rectus transposition vs medial rectus recession for treatment of esotropic Duane syndrome.](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24763870) *JAMA Ophthalmology* – 2014 Jun[](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1931524413004283) [Return to top](#top) *eyeNews™* is prepared by the HMS Department of Ophthalmology Communications Office and electronically distributed to all full-time HMS Ophthalmology faculty and trainees. 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