Investigating the pathogenetic mechanisms leading to glaucoma surgery failure & development of new targeted therapeutics

Half of all glaucoma surgeries fail within a year because scar tissue blocks the new drainage channel the surgeon created. Glaucoma blinds millions worldwide by damaging the optic nerve, often due to fluid pressure building up inside the eye. Surgery creates an artificial drainage route to lower that pressure, but scarring—the body’s natural wound-healing response—closes the route in roughly 50% of patients within five years for traditional trabeculectomy, and within just one year for newer minimally invasive procedures. The underlying biological reasons why some patients scar aggressively while others do not remain unknown. This project will use advanced molecular and cellular techniques to identify the specific mechanisms driving severe scarring after both types of glaucoma surgery. If successful, it will reveal which patients are at highest risk and why, and point toward targeted treatments—drugs or biological agents—that could prevent scar formation without the side effects of current broad-spectrum anti-scarring drugs. The result would be a dramatic reduction in repeat surgeries and irreversible vision loss, changing the standard of care for the millions who undergo glaucoma surgery each year.