Ocular Biology
Within ocular biology, researchers at the UAB School of Optometry are studying cellular and mechanical mechanisms, retinal anatomy and physiology, ocular biome, ocular surface, infection, inflammation, neurobiology and ocular pharmacology.
Featured Research
How Biology of the Eye Reflects the Health of the Brain
Timothy Kraft, PhD, is an expert in retinal physiology who has studied the function and biophysics of retinal photoreceptors for almost 30 years. Kraft has worked with fellow UAB researcher Dr. Erik Roberson, and together they have proven a functional loss in the retinas of an animal model of frontotemporal dementia, which parallels similar problems in human patients.
Molecular Mechanisms of Retinal Degenerations and Ciliopathies
Alecia K. Gross, PhD, is researching protein-mediated retinal degenerations and molecular mechanisms of photoreceptor membrane biogenesis—in particular, the necessary molecular interactions for healthy photoreceptor disk membranes to form.
