John Fingert, MD, PhD, The Hadley-Carver Chair in Glaucoma and Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, was awarded a grant from The Glaucoma Foundation to study glaucoma caused by exfoliation syndrome. The $60,000 award funds a project to study mitochondrial function (energy production) in cells collected from glaucoma patients. His previous work suggests that abnormalities in mitochondria may contribute to eye disease in exfoliation syndrome and in this project he will examine mitochondria in tiny skin biopsies from clinic patients. Electron microscopy will also be used to investigate mitochondrial structure in exfoliation syndrome. The round organelle filled with membranous structures (cristae) indicated with an arrow in the micrograph below is an example of a mitochondrion.

Collaborators on this project include Lee Alward, MD, Young Kwon, MD, PhD, and Robert Mullins, MS, PhD.