Glaucoma damages the optic nerve, resulting in vision loss and, in some cases, blindness. Vision loss from glaucoma can be slowed or prevented by early detection and appropriate, individualized treatment. Physician-scientists in the Glaucoma Division at UCLA Stein Eye Institute seek to identify individuals at greatest risk for vision loss, develop personalized strategies for their care, and implement new therapies to preserve their vision.

Clinical research: Division scientists are developing better methods to measure rates of glaucoma damage and identify patients at high risk of blindness. These efforts help with the development and implementation of effective and individualized therapies to prevent vision loss.

Translational research: We convert laboratory findings into medical practice, moving information from promising experiments through clinical trials to point-of-care patient applications. Division members are actively involved in developing new and improved treatment strategies and innovative clinical trials.

Stein Eye Glaucoma Division Faculty have:

Demonstrated that nerve cells damaged by glaucoma can be rescued and robust treatment can reverse glaucoma-related visual damage.

Developed techniques to identify patients at highest risk for vision loss. Implemented artificial intelligence approaches to predict which patients are at high risk of disease deterioration.

Identified which social determinants of health are increasing the likelihood of the progression of vision loss in glaucoma patients.

Developed new surgical techniques for the management of glaucoma and its complications.

What new treatment will you fund?

Using newer statistical methods to estimate how fast glaucoma is deteriorating in an individual patient so that timely action can be taken and change the way we monitor glaucoma.

Applying AI to analyze previously gathered glaucoma data, including numbers, images, photographs, etc., to predict the future course of the disease and proactively use therapies to slow disease progression.

Using the clinical and genomic data to be collected by UCLA’s ATLAS program to enhance our understanding of the genetic determinant of health and disease related to glaucoma. ATLAS intends to enroll a diverse patient population of 150,000 or more patients into the UCLA Precision Health Biobank. Genetic information gathered will be integrated with de-identified clinical information from the patient medical records for predictive modeling.

Your donations are what make these innovations in glaucoma treatment and therapies possible.

Give Now

To learn how you can support glaucoma research to stop vision loss with a donation, please ask your doctor, a staff member, or contact:

Susan Lee DeRemer, CFRE
Director of Development
UCLA Stein Eye Institute
310-825-3381 or [email protected]
uclahealth.org/eye/glaucoma-division