Ocular Motility

Joseph Demer, MD, PhD, Director

Contact Information
Phone: (310) 825-5931
Fax: (310) 206-7826
Email: [email protected]

Location Address
Stein Eye Institute
100 Stein Plaza, BH-726
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Description

In the past 36 years, the laboratory has modernized the field’s scientific and clinical understanding of the structure and function of the eye muscles and associated connective tissues in the eye socket. These efforts have resulted in useful explanations for common forms of binocular coordination disorders such as strabismus, and provided the basis for effective new surgical therapies to correct them. Current research projects include studies to clarify the functions of the eye muscles and connective tissues of the eye socket in the development of strabismus, optic nerve diseases such as glaucoma, and myopia (nearsightedness). These research projects involve quantitative imaging at scales from microscopic to macroscopic, imaging of both cadaveric and living human specimens, and experimental and computational biomechanics. Fundamental discoveries are translated into improved clinical approaches to common diseases of vision.