Distinctive features

• International centre of excellence
• Laboratory suites equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for cell and organ culture, histology, neuroscience, protein analysis, molecular biology, gene transfection, molecular genetics, absorption/emission spectroscopy, and microscopic imaging
• Has made a number of novel discoveries in the context of this theme:
  • Identification of the gene responsible for the major form of optic atrophy
  • Lipofuscin is a photoinducible free radical generator that causes cell dysfunction
  • Matrix metalloproteinases are upregulated in the development of myopia in mammals and identification of a new member of the MMP family
  • Damage to the centrifugal visual system alters eye development and its retractive state, suggesting that the brain influences emmetropisation
• Developed innovative experimental or genetic models for studying corneal transplantation, ocular development, glaucoma and optic atrophy, neural tracing, oxidative damage to the retina and a variety of eye diseases
• Supported by grants from the MRC, BBSRC, Wellcome Trust, NIHR/NISCHR, EU, Medical Charities, Health Service and the private sector