Ophthalmology

Mendel Laboratory

Thomas Mendel, M.D., Ph.D., leads a translational laboratory investigating the development and implementation of gene therapies for patients with inherited retinal diseases. Patients with inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) experience diminished vision in low light or night blindness, loss of color vision, light sensitivity and progressive vision loss due to the degeneration of specific retinal cells. IRDs can affect individuals of all ages and account for 20% of blindness in adults. 

Genetics research is essential for precision-based care to provide earlier diagnosis, improve outcomes, elucidate the genetic causes of disease and determine the best treatments and their timing for each patient. Dr. Mendel provides care to both adults and children affected by these diseases in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Ohio State and at Nationwide Children's Hospital. 

Song Laboratory

Liujiang Song, Ph.D. leads a laboratory aimed at advancing gene therapies for a range of diseases, with an emphasis on anterior ocular disorders and ongoing efforts focused on developing gene therapy approaches for corneal andeothelial dystrophy. In parallel, the Song Laboratory investigates Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector biology, including AAV genome fate, the functions of inverted terminal repeats (ITRs), and vector engineering to develop safer, more potent, and regulatable vectors. The laboratory also pursues cross-platform innovations, translating mechanistic insights from AAV biology to strengthen other delivery systems, including synthetic, non-viral episomal vectors capable of durable gene expression, accomodating larger genetic payloads, and supporting repeat dosing. Collectively, the laboratory's efforts seek to enhance the safety and performance of both viral and non-viral gene therapy modalities, and to advance basic research toward therapeutic use. 

Moroi Laboratory

Sayoko Moroi, M.D., Ph.D. is working together with Raymond Gao, Ph.D. to apply genetics toward preventing glaucoma-related blindness. If left untreated glaucoma can cause blindness and, currently, 10% of people with glaucoma who do receive treatment still experience loss of vision. Together they are studying the genetic architecture of eye pressure and are developing genetic risk prediction models for glaucoma. 

Drs. Moroi and Gao are seeking to understand why individual patients respond differently to treatments. They are approaching this question by applying genetic factors of glaucoma and intraocular pressure to the physiology of intraocular pressure known as aqueous humor dynamics. This precision medicine approach aims to shift from "trial-and-error" to individualized treatments based on clinical and genetic factors.  

Together they are passionate about harnessing the power of genetics to decrease glaucoma-related blindness.