A clinical research team led by Reza Dana, MD, MSc, MPH, the Claes H. Dohlman Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Cornea and Refractive Surgery Service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, have developed a biomaterial for corneal repair and regeneration that could circumvent the need for corneal transplant surgeries. The new technology, named GelCORE (gel for corneal regeneration), is an adhesive gel packed with light-activated chemicals that can seal cuts or ulcers on the cornea and then encourage the regeneration of corneal tissue.

... Read more about Reza Dana, MD, MSc, MPH, and Team of Researchers Develop a Biomaterial for Corneal Repair and Regeneration

Congratulations to Harvard Ophthalmology faculty who are recognized in Boston magazine’s 2019 Top Doctors list. Physicians are selected by their peers via an online nomination process established by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., a health care research and information company.... Read more about Boston's Top Doctors 2019

Researchers have developed a potential new strategy for improving outcomes in corneal transplant surgeries by injecting vasoactive intestinal peptide into the eye.... Read more about New Technique May Improve Corneal Transplant Survival

Reza Dana, MD, MSc, MPH, the Claes H. Dohlman Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and Director of Cornea and Refractive Surgery Service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, has been awarded a Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) Stein Innovation Award in the amount of $300,000 over three years. ... Read more about Reza Dana, MD, MSc, MPH, Awarded Research to Prevent Blindness Stein Innovation Award

Reza Dana, MD, MSc, MPH, Claes Dohlman Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Cornea Service at Mass. Eye and Ear, received a 2017 Senior Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). The AAO Achievement Award program recognizes individuals who participate in the scientific programs at their annual meetings, and contribute to more than 25 categories of the Academy. L...

Prestigious award honors outstanding research in ophthalmology

Boston, Mass. — The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) recently announced that Reza Dana, MD, MPH, MSc, Director of Cornea and Refractive Surgery at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and a resident of Newton, Mass., will receive the prestigious Friedenwald Award. Established in 1957 as a memorial to Dr. Jonas S. Friedenwald,...

Treating donor tissue with a special cocktail of molecules improves outcomes and promotes survival of high-risk corneal transplants

Boston, Mass. — Treating donor corneas with a cocktail of molecules prior to transplanting to a host may improve survival of grafts and, thus, outcomes in high-risk corneal transplant patients, according to a new study led by researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. The findings, ...

Boston, Mass. — Researchers from Schepens Eye Research Institute of Massachusetts Eye and Ear have uncovered two factors responsible for the chronic, lifelong nature of autoimmune disorders, which tend to “flare up” intermittently in affected patients. These two factors are cell-signaling proteins called cytokines—specifically Interleukin-7 and -15 (IL-7 and IL-15)—that are secreted by cells of the immune system and help modulate memory Th17 cells, a subset of T cells which are known to contribute to autoimmune disorders. Until now, it was unclear how Th17 cells...

Faculty Recognition

Joseph Arboleda-Velasquez, MD, PhD, received a grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and National Institute of Aging/National Institutes of Health in the amount of $1,016,301 over five years for his project, "Exploring the Role of Aging in Cerebral Ischemic Small Vessel Disease Using Notch3 Mutant Mice."

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Reza Dana, MD, MSc, MPH, Claes H. Dohlman Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, will receive the 2016 Endre A. Balazs Prize and present a Plenary Lecture at the XXII Biennial Meeting of International Society for Eye Research (ISER). The event will take place in Tokyo, Japan, on September 25 to 29, 2016. This prize honors a distinguished scientist whose outstanding contributions lead to significant progress in the field of experimental eye research. Past Harvard Ophthalmology recipients include...

A complication associated with bone marrow transplantation, graft-versus-host-disease occurs when a transplanted immune system attacks certain parts of a host’s body, and may cause severe dry eye and damage to the cornea. A clinical trial at Massachusetts Eye and Ear showed that topical doses of ultra low-dose tacrolimus, an immunosuppressive medication, is equally effective and showed fewer hypertensive side effects in treating...

Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School have identified inflammatory factors that contribute to optic nerve damage following keratoprosthesis (KPro) implantation in a mouse model. They have also shown that blocking one of the factors, TNFa, leads to a significant decrease in optic nerve cell death, suggesting a new direction for preventing optic nerve damage in patients with keratoprosthesis implants.

BOSTON – Researchers from...

In February 2016, Reza Dana, MD, MPH, MSc, Vice Chair for Academic Programs for the Harvard Medical School (HMS) Department of Ophthalmology, and Director of the Cornea and Refractive Surgery Service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, was elected to...

The NIH K12 EY016335 Grant, which funds the Harvard Vision Clinical Scientist Development Program, led by Reza Dana, MD, MSc, MPH, has been renewed for funding by the NIH for an additional four years. The program awards career development grants that provide exceptional junior clinician scientists with financial support, mentorship, and 75 percent protected research time to pursue and build independent research...

Seanna Grob, MD, HMS Department of Ophthalmology Resident, won second place in the 2015 Ophthalmology Times Resident Writer's Award for her case study, "Management of drug-induced cicatricial conjunctivitis and dry eye," which she wrote in collaboration with Reza Dana and resident Hajirah Saeed. She received this award at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) meeting in Las Vegas in November.