Brandon Gerberich

BME PhD Thesis Defense

Date: Friday, March 27 2020

Time: Noon – 1pm

Location: Georgia Tech IBB Building, Suddath Roomn 1128

Bluejeans: https://bluejeans.com/2743776069

Committee Members:

Mark Prausntiz (Advisor, BME)

C. Ross Ethier (BME)

Machelle Pardue (BME)

M. G. Finn (Chemistry)

Anastasios Costarides (Emory Eye Center)

Title: Collagen Photocrosslinking for Treatment of Glaucoma

Abstract:

Glaucomatous vision loss is mediated through mechanical force transduction near the optic nerve due to elevated intraocular pressure. Resulting retinal ganglion cell damage is believed to be mediated through strains in the collagenous scleral tissue adjacent to the optic nerve head (peripapillary sclera). Therefore, stiffening of the peripapiallary scleral tissues is hypothesized to be a promising treatment for glaucoma.

This work tests the hypothesis that stiffening the peripapillary scleral tissue protects against pressure-induced glaucomatous vision loss. To do so, 1) a photocrosslinking technique was developed to selectively stiffen peripapillary sclerae in vivo, 2) investigation of this technique’s effects as a potential treatment were investigated in glaucomatous rats, and 3) a theoretical computer model was created to predict crosslink distribution and magnitude for future scleral photocrosslinking procedures.