Retina Research
Retina Research includes retina division faculty-led projects and multiple laboratories engaged in groundbreaking discoveries aimed at transforming the study and treatment of retinal diseases.
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- Pre-Operative Intravitreal Bevacizumab for Tractional Retinal Detachment Secondary to Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy
- Intravitreal Bevacizumab for Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy
- Intravitreal Bevacizumab for Diabetic Macular Edema: 5-year Results
- Intravitreal Bevacizumab for Exudative Age-related Macular Degeneration: 5-year Results
- Retinal Complications after Anterior versus Posterior Chamber Phakic Intraocular Lens Implantation in Myopia
- Retinal Detachment in Down Syndrome: Characteristics and Surgical Outcomes
- Surgical Outcomes of Pars Plana Vitrectomy in the Management of Chronic Traumatic Macular Hole
- Clinical Characteristics and Treatment of Panuveitis
- Retinal Detachment in Uveitis
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Neil M. Bressler, M.D., graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, completed ophthalmology residency at Harvard Medical School’s Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and joined the Retina Division of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Wilmer Eye Institute – Department of Ophthalmology) as Assistant Professor in 1988.
- He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1989, and then Professor in 1997, receiving the inaugural James P. Gills Professorship of Ophthalmology in 2000.
- He was Retina Division Chief from 2005 to 2018 and continues his international retinal referral practice to this day.
- Since 2013, he has been Editor in Chief of JAMA Ophthalmology.
- Bressler has authored over 485 peer-reviewed publications, with academic pursuits including clinical trial and AI research in retina.
- He has Chaired multiple NIH-sponsored multicenter clinical trials, including the NIH-sponsored Submacular Surgery Trials in the 1990s and the NIH-sponsored DRCR Retina Network from 2006 to 2012.
- His commitments to service within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services include chairing the National Eye Institute’s (NEI’s) Data and Safety Monitoring Committee for intramural clinical trials for over 20 years, since 2004.
- He also has participated on the FDA Ophthalmic Devices Panel for 24 years, since 2000, chairing 2008-2011 and 2019-2024.
- He was President of the Macula Society in 2013 and 2014.
- He is Program Director for three annual Continuing Medical Education meetings for Johns Hopkins University, currently with thousands of registrants each year.
- He also serves on the Board of Directors of the JAEB Center for Health Research Foundation, Inc. and the JAEB Center Research Trust, Inc., a freestanding, nonprofit coordinating center for multi-center clinical trials and epidemiologic research.
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- All active protocols for the DRCR.net (Diabetes Clinical Research Network) including:
- Comparison of ranibizumab + prompt or deferred laser vs triamcinolone + prompt laser vs focal/drid laser in the management of diabetic macular edema
- Assessment of the reproducibility of multiple different spectral domain OCT instruments and comparison to time domain OCT among individuals with diabetes
- Comparison of ranibizumab/bevacizumab/aflibercept in the management of diabetic macular edema
- Evaluation of observation vs laser vs anti-VEGF therapy for eyes with diabetic macular edema and good vision
- All active protocols for the DRCR.net (Diabetes Clinical Research Network) including:
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- Drug delivery with nanomedicine - directing medicine directly to the retina that can last for up to six month
- Identifying mechanisms on how diabetic retinopathy and AMD progress and the molecules that might cause progression
- Identifying protective factors against retinal disease so that the protective factors can be enhanced
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- Incontinentia pigmenti: Dr. Goldberg is re-evaluating patients he initially studied up to two decades ago in order to determine the natural course and proper treatment of this often severe disease, which is inherited only in females and can cause severe retinal (and cerebral) shutdown and overgrowth of arteries and veins, including major hemorrhages in the eye and brain.
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- Studying how oxidized stress magnifies immune response and how the retina protects itself
- How oxidized lipids damage the retina
- Designing cell therapy to treat myopia
- Creating new drugs to treat Stargardt's disease
- Using robotic surgery to improve retina surgery and to improve surgery education
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- Understanding the molecular mechanisms of retinal neuronal changes in early diabetic retinopathy
- Investigating the interaction between retinal neurons and blood vessels in diabetic retinopathy
- Uncovering new molecular targets and pathways for treatment/prevention of diabetic retinopathy
- Identifying biomarkers to diagnose early diabetic retinal disease
- Defining the retinal structural and functional changes in prediabetes and early diabetes
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- Epidemiology on health disparities in eye care
- Sickle cell anemia
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Retinal vein occlusion
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- The role of HIF (hypoxic-inducible factor) regulation and dysregulation in ocular disease, with the goal of identifying novel therapeutic approaches for treatment of a variety of vision-threatening diseases:
- Identification of a novel “bad” HIF target gene that promotes macular edema
- Examination of the role of “good” HIF target genes in protecting the retina in dry AMD
- Using HIF target genes to target and destroy pathological blood vessels in ocular neovascular disease.
- The role of HIF (hypoxic-inducible factor) regulation and dysregulation in ocular disease, with the goal of identifying novel therapeutic approaches for treatment of a variety of vision-threatening diseases:
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Dr. Solomon’s research is aimed at better understanding the pathophysiology of how idiopathic macular holes develop and to potentially develop targeted non-surgical therapy for this blinding condition. The current treatment for idiopathic macular holes, which occur more commonly in women, involves surgery very often with prolonged face-down positioning. While successful, surgery can be associated with significant complications such as cataract formation, increased eye pressure, retinal tears, and retinal detachment.
Because a gas bubble is placed in the eye during surgery to close the macular hole, patients have decreased vision for days after surgery and lose time from work because of the need for prolonged face-down positioning.
Dr. Solomon’s work is implementing proteomics analyses to understand the pathogenesis of macular hole formation. If successful, this research may elucidate the pathophysiology of other surgical retinal diseases, such as vitreomacular traction, lamellar holes, and epiretinal membranes, all of which can cause decreased reading vision that requires surgical intervention.
Dr. Solomon's initial research on macular holes has gained national attention and is being undertaken in a clinical trial that will involve medical centers across the country.
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