3 Residents Highlighted in Buffalo Ophthalmology Symposium

Published September 8, 2017 This content is archived.

story by bill bruton

Three residents provided presentations concentrating on retinal diseases and treatment at a symposium sponsored by the Department of Ophthalmology and the Ross Eye Institute.

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Residents Research Projects

Residents presented research posters on:

  • Smartphone Use in Determining Ophthalmological Emergencies
    Presenter: Centrael (Sonny) Evans, MD
    Mentor: Sandra Sieminski, MD, clinical assistant professor of ophthalmology and director of glaucoma services
  • iExaminer: A Clinically Proven Fundus Imaging System With Medical Education Potential
    Presenter: Steven Stockslager, MD
    Mentor: Matthew Pihlblad, MD
  • Conflict of Interest: Declarations in the Ophthalmic Literature
    Presenter: Jamie Schaefer, MD
    Mentor: Geert Craenen, MD, VA Western New York Healthcare System

Faculty Member Presentations

Four department faculty gave presentations:

13 Posters Presented by Faculty

A total of 13 posters were presented by faculty. They were also presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting in Baltimore in May.

Four of the posters were presented by John M. Sullivan, MD, PhD, professor:

  • Finding a Needle in a Haystack: Tracking Rhodopsin mRNA using RNA Aptamers
    Co-authors: Jennifer B. Breen, BS; Alexandria J. Trujillo, doctoral student in pharmacology and toxicology; Mark C. Butler, MS; and Sriganesh Ramachandra Rao, doctoral student in biochemistry
  • Cleavage of Human Rhodopsin mRNA and Protein Knockdown Using Lead HHRz-725, a Candidate Therapeutic Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa
    Co-authors: Zahra S. Fayazi, DVM, PhD; and Mark C. Butler, MS
  • Hammerhead Ribozyme in a tRNA Scaffold: Effects of RNA Processing and Anti-Sense Flank Length on Cleavage In-Vivo
    Co-authors: Jason M. Myers, MS; and Zahra S. Fayazi, DVM, PhD
  • Structural Modeling Predicts Variability in Efficacy of Lead Candidate Hammerhead Ribozyme Between Different Species Rhodopsin mRNA
    Co-authors: Alexandria J. Trujillo, doctoral student in pharmacology and toxicology; and Beau R. Froebel, MD

Sangita P. Patel, MD, PhD, clinical assistant professor, presented three posters:

  • Influence of Eyelid Pigmentation on the Diagnosis of Meibomian Gland Dysfunction
    Co-author: Max J. Blumberg, BS
  • Estrogen Receptor Beta in Human Corneal Endothelium
    Co-authors: Ali Mahdavi Fard, MD; and Michael J. Morales, PhD
  • A Novel Model of Corneal Edema in Mice With a Disrupted Endothelial Bicarbonate Transporter
    Co-authors: Mark D. Parker, PhD; Anikó Marshall, research support specialist; Cheikh Mballo, undergraduate student in biomedical sciences; and Emily E. Salerno

Joshua Jianxin Wang, MD, associate research professor, presented three posters:

  • Loss of Xbp1 in Retinal Cells Accelerates Age-Related Deterioration in the Mouse Visual System
    Co-authors: Todd R. McLaughlin, research scientist; and Sarah X. Zhang, MD, associate professor
  • Role of Endothelial Nox4 in Retinal Vascular Development and Pathological Angiogenesis
    Co-authors: Xixiang Tang, research assistant; and Sarah X. Zhang, MD, associate professor
  • Enhanced Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Bone Marrow Angiogenic Progenitor Cells in a Mouse Model of Long-Term Experimental Type 2 Diabetes
    Co-Authors: Maulasri Bhatta, MS; Jacey Ma, MD, PhD; Jonna Sakowski, BS; and Sarah X. Zhang, MD, associate professor

Steven J. Fliesler, PhD, Meyer H. Riwchun Endowed Chair Professor, presented two posters:

  • Rod Photoreceptor-Specific Ablation of DehydrodolichyIdiphosphate Synthase (DHDDS) Causes Rapid Retinal Degenerations: A New Model for arRP
    Co-authors: Sriganesh Ramachandra Rao, doctoral student in biochemistry; Mark C. Butler, MS; Delores A. Stacks, BA; and Steven J. Pittler, PhD
  • Compromised Phagosome Maturation Underlies Defective Rod Outer Segment Clearance in Culture iPSC-Derived RPE Cells from Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome Patients
    Co-authors: Sriganesh Ramachandra Rao, doctoral student in biochemistry; Nestor Mas Gomez, PhD; Bruce A. Pfeffer, PhD; Aryn M. Rowsam, BS; and Claire H. Mitchell, PhD

Xiuqian Mu, PhD, associate professor, presented a poster titled: Transcriptomic and Epigenomic Analysis of Retinal Ganglion Cell Development

Two Awarded ‘Teacher of the Year’ Designation

Two faculty members were awarded “Teacher of the Year” as part of the conference. Ruth Mattern, MD, and Michael Vilardo, MD, both clinical assistant professors of ophthalmology, were the honorees.

Those selections are chosen and awarded by residents.

Seddon Receives Lucien Howe Medal

Johanna M. Seddon, MD, was presented with the Howe Gold Medal — a combined UB/Buffalo Ophthalmological Society prize — in recognition of her work in ophthalmic research. Seddon is a professor of ophthalmology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.

The award is in honor of Lucien Howe, who spent much of his career as a professor of ophthalmology at the University at Buffalo. An 1890 statute sometimes referred to as “The Howe Law” required application of silver nitrate drops in the eyes of newborns to prevent blindness.

The Buffalo Ophthalmology Symposium took place June 16 at the Millennium Hotel in Cheektowaga, New York.