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Project Title
Reducing health disparities in adult vision loss via interfaces with emerging technology
Project Type
Research, Education/Training
Project Overview
Progressive vision loss affects growing numbers of adults by the age of 65. Health disparities (HD) in vision loss have broadened worldwide to foreshadow multifaceted challenges for eye care. Interpreting the nature and origins of ocular HD is critical, as comprehensive analyses can yield meaningful impact in health care policy and/or reveal unexplored instigators of vision loss. HD in vision loss may be greatly reduced through synergies with biomaterials, nanoscience, and microtechnologies to predict and validate changes in biological responses from a range of healthy and pathological tissues. Dissimilarities in cell and tissue responses to contemporary therapies can be predicted and examined using controlled, experimental models engineered by these technologies. Further, emerging systems can be applied to elucidate epigenetic-induced pathologies in the visual system, as well as to deconstruct contributions to vision loss triggered by epigenetic changes in other physiological systems, such as cardiovascular or neurology.
Project Leaders
Maribel Vazquez
Rutgers Departments and Schools/Units Involved
Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering
Project Location
Piscataway, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Sponsors
National Science Foundation (CBET – Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems)