The Glaucoma Genetics lab has been awarded a grant from the National Eye Institute to study glaucoma caused by the TBK1 gene using a stem cell approach. The two year R21 grant entitled “TBK1-Related Glaucoma” will provide resources for the lab to collect skin cells from patients with low pressure glaucoma caused by a TBK1 gene defect. These skin cells will be reprogrammed to become pluripotent stem cells which then will be used to produce cells that have features of the optic nerve - the tissue damaged by glaucoma. This study will allow Glaucoma Genetics Lab members to study the steps by which defects in the TBK1 gene damage the optic nerve and cause glaucoma. Moreover these studies will also lay the groundwork for testing new treatments for TBK1-related glaucoma as well as developing restorative optic nerve therapies.

Key Investigators in this project are John Fingert and Budd Tucker and their post-doctoral fellow Tasneem Sharma.

Dr. Wallace L.M. Alward has produced a teaching site for residents and others interested in learning about glaucoma. It breaks glaucoma into fifty bite-sized lectures that average 14 minutes in length (range 4 to 37 minutes). In total the curriculum is just under 12 hours long. It is highly visual with >900 images and >90 movie clips. The site is located at: http://curriculum.iowaglaucoma.org.

Studies of two large families with nanophthalmos identified mutations in the TMEM98 gene that lead to development of abnormally small eyes that is a dominantly inherited trait. Read more about it here.

Daniel Bettis MD is the newest addition to the Glaucoma Service. He recently completed his Glaucoma Fellowship at the Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake City, Utah and will be providing medical and surgical glaucoma care at the University Hospitals and Clinics and at the Iowa City VA Hospital.