Vanessa Morales-Tirado, MS, PhD, assistant professor in the Hamilton Eye Institute at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, is using her background in immunology to investigate diseases of the eye that lead to vision loss.

She has received $50,000 from the Alcon Research Institute Young Investigator Grant program for research that focuses on a specific molecule in the retinal ganglion cells, which communicate visual signals from the eye to the brain. Morales-Tirado hopes to provide insight into the survival and death of these cells, to identify potential drug targets in the cells for possible treatment, and to better understand how glaucoma affects them.

“Our results are expected to have a positive translational impact, as they will provide novel therapeutic targets in the treatment of glaucoma. We are very fortunate to have a collaborative team where researchers and physicians are working together to translate our findings,” said Morales-Tirado. “Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world.”