2015_Annual_Report

Growth in PhD Program Applications 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 NUMBER APPLICANTS ACCEPTED ENROLLED 26 Dr. Bloomfield says that myopia has not been adequately studied, but that the funding from SUNY Brain could lead to important advances that could benefit billions of people around the world. “This is a very important health problem, and with this research, we’ll have much more information about myopia’s causes that could ultimately help us offer actual treatments.” To study both what brings myopia on and what makes it worse, the SUNY team will be looking at multiple environmental and genetic risk factors for myopia, developing innovative animal models using zebrafish and mice. These species lend themselves to quick genetic changes, allowing for accelerated findings. Depending on the results of the study, Dr. Bloomfield says, the team might work on a wearable electronic device that would help track “illuminance,” or a person’s exposure to the kind of light necessary for healthy eye development. If they are able to isolate the genetic marker responsible for myopia, the study may even lead to research on gene therapy. While myopia may have multiple genetic causes, the team believes that a protein called Connexin 36 could be a prime suspect. With the help of lab mice that have Connexin 36 “knocked out,” the SUNY team hopes to learn a lot about how this protein may impact myopia. “We’re raising some mice in low light to compare how myopia develops in mice with and without Connexin 36,” Dr. Bloomfield explains. “Once we have completed this study, we’ll have a much better idea of the causes.” Then, he says, the team will be in a position to start work on wearable monitors and other kinds of treatments. Asked whether this research will benefit adults who have more advanced myopia, Dr. Bloomfield says it’s too early to tell. But certainly the work of this team will shed new light on how nearsightedness might be treated—or even prevented—in the future, perhaps stemming the tide of increasing cases of myopia worldwide. The College has additional research efforts related to myopia, including the Infocus clinical study that is testing myopia control in children and faculty member, Dr. Alexandra Benavente-Perez’s research on the mechanisms of myopia development. 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015