Research Roundup
The American Optometric Association awarded Andy Hartwick, OD PhD $50,000 for his study, Effect of atropine on ganglion cell photoreceptors. The goal of the work is to assess the interaction between the cholinergic and melanopsin pathways in intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) and determine whether the two pathways antagonize or inhibit each other. He will assess whether prolonged blockade of the cholinergic ipRGC pathway by atropine results in enhancement of subsequent melanopsin-mediated responses. Enhancement of melanopsin-related responses could increase the sensitivity of these photoreceptors to ambient light levels, facilitating the well-established effect of bright (i.e. outdoor) light in protecting against myopia development.
Nick Fogt (OD/MS’92, PhD’96) was awarded $9,950 from the Optometric Vision Development and Rehabilitation Association for his study Functional magnetic resonance imaging for different vergence eye movement subtypes in convergence insufficiency following orthoptic therapy. Dr. Fogt, with his collaborators Marjean Kulp (OD’91, MS’93) and Andy Toole (OD’97, MS’00, PhD’08), will use functional magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate whether orthotic therapy normalizes brain activation in patients with convergence insufficiency. They hope to learn whether this activation is the same as that in binocularly normal individuals or whether the therapy leads to compensation for the deficiency in patients with convergence insufficiency. The long-term goal of the research is to optimize the efficiency of vergence-accommodation training, which can be time consuming and expensive for patients.
TJ Plageman, PhD, received a $20,000 2026 VSP Innovation Grant for his project, Characterization of Shroom3 associated ZO-1 protein function in the outer limiting membrane. Some congenital retinal dystrophies are linked to proteins that function in the outer limiting membrane of the eye and the outer and inner segments of photoreceptors. Dr. Plageman’s research focusses on the cytoskeletal protein, Shroom3, and its putative relationship with junctional protein ZO-1. This research will test the idea that the two proteins work together to stabilize normal cell adhesion during the development of the eye.
Teng Leng Ooi, PhD, and Michelle Buckland (OD’06, MS’08) are 2026 recipients of a $20,000 VSP Innovation Grant for their study, The egocentric reference frame in amblyopia and/or strabismus and its influence on heading while walking. Observers with strabismus and/or amblyopia have an impaired ability to judge target positions, which preliminary work in Dr. Ooi’s lab suggests could be due to a shifted egocentric reference frame. This could result in a tendency to veer sideways when intending to walk straight ahead. The project will explore the navigational challenges encountered by patients with strabismus and/or amblyopia, especially in visually impoverished circumstances like those at night, and how the findings are associated with traditional clinical measures of binocularity.
Ann Morrison (OD’14, MS’16, PhD’21) is the Ohio State site PI and Marjean Kulp (OD’91, MS’93) is the site co-investigator for the new 18-site Myopia Treatment Study 2 (MTS2), funded by the National Eye Institute through the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG). This study will be investigating the effectiveness of low-concentration atropine eyedrops and spectacle lenses designed to slow the progression of myopia in children.
Congratulations to Electra Coffman, a graduate student in molecular, cellular and developmental biology working with TJ Plageman, PhD, on the award of an Ohio Lions Eye Research Foundation graduate student fellowship for her work, Characterizing the role of alpha-II spectrin in lens cell adhesion and physiology toward cortical cataractogenesis. The cellular mechanisms that lead to different cataract types remain poorly understood. Her project uses a mouse model to understand how Sptan1, an abundant protein in the lens, regulates cortical-specific lens transparency. She aims to analyze cell adhesion between lens cells, lens physiology, and transparency over age in mouse lenses with or without Sptan1. She hopes to characterize Sptan1 as a critical protein in cortical lens cell structure and function.
Lauren Schneider (OD/MS’22), a PhD student in the vision science graduate program at The Ohio State University College of Optometry, has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Arene T. Wray Fellowship. The Arene T. Wray Fellowship was created to promote optometric research and is specifically designated for graduate students who can do the best work in optometry. Dr. Schneider is pursuing her PhD under the mentorship of Heather Anderson, OD PhD to understand how the potential structural differences in the eyes of individuals with Down syndrome account for their refractive error and visual acuity.
Marielle Reidy (OD/MS’19), a PhD student in the vision science graduate program at The Ohio State University College of Optometry working under the mentorship of Don Mutti, OD PhD, has been selected as this year’s recipient of the Barr-Stiegemeier Award. This award will provide Dr. Reidy with funds to continue her work to identify the mechanism of treatment effects observed from current myopia control techniques, such as soft bifocal contact lenses. The Barr-Stiegemeier Award was established by Joseph T. Barr (OD’77, MS’79) and Mary Jo Stiegemeier (OD’83) to support the research of graduate students who have specific interest in cornea and contact lens education and knowledge.
