Ophthalmology & Ocular Biology
Soohyun Kim, DVM, PhD
Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences
I am a veterinary ophthalmologist and clinician-scientist at the Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California – Davis. I am particularly interested in the advanced ocular imaging of anterior and posterior segments.
Potential projects for STAR students include:
1) Advanced imaging before and after the EDTA chelating in patients with calcific corneal degeneration.
2) Assessment of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and optic nerve head in normal and glaucoma dogs.
3) Evaluation of retinal pathology in small animals.
4) Evaluation of corneal opacity using in vivo confocal biomicroscopy.
Contact information: shvkim@ucdavis.edu
Brian Leonard
Department of Surgical & Radiological Sciences
(see also: Immunology/Infectious Disease)
My research focuses on ocular surface health and immunity. I am particularly interested in the factors that promote tear film stability and the pathologies that lead to destabilization and ocular surface disease. Additionally, I am interested in the innate immune system of the ocular surface and the potential for modulating host responses to limit microbial keratitis.
I can be reached at bcleonard@ucdavis.edu for questions.
Bianca Da Costa Martins, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVO, DCLOVE (Hon)
VM: Surgical & Radiological Sciences
Dr. Bianca Martins is a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist and clinician-scientist at the Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences at the School of Veterinary Medicine at University of California – Davis. Her overall focus are include ocular surface reconstruction with an emphasis on the use of biological and synthetic grafts. My research program has three focus area: 1) corneal banking for corneal transplantation; 2) the use of amniotic membrane for ocular surface reconstruction; 3) equine ocular surface health.
Contact information: bcmartins@ucdavis.edu
Sara Thomasy, DVM, PhD, DACVO
Corneal endothelial disease, large animal models of ocular disease, corneal wound healing, glaucoma, ocular pharmacology & toxiciology
VM: Surgical & Radiological Sciences
Dr. Sara Thomasy is a veterinary ophthalmologist and clinician-scientist with strong interests in advanced ocular imaging, large animal models of ocular diseae, corneal wound healing and glaucoma. She is co-PI with Dr. Brian Leonard of the Comparative Ophthalmology Vision Sciences Laboratory (COVSL), a large (approx 15 personnel) highly collaborative interdisciplinary laboratory which conducts research at the intersection of mechanobiology, translational medicine and clinical need. Their laboratories are fully equipped for cell and molecular biology studies as well as in vivo studies. The lab has a fully equipped suite for advanced ocular imaging of the anterior and posterior segment. With the breath of projects available, the initial task for a STAR student working in our labs is to identify a project that the student is motivated by and that is accomplishable within the time frame provided.
CONTACT INFORMATION: Comparative Ophthalmology & Vision Sciences Lab: Tupper Hall, room 1220; smthomasy@ucdavis.edu.
Glenn Yiu, MD, PhD
Med: Ophthalmology & Vision Science
Dr. Yiu is a clinician-scientist and vitreoretinal surgeon at the UC Davis Medical Center who uses advanced ocular imaging technologies to study diseases of the eye. Examples include optical coherence tomography (OCT), which allows visualization of retinal pathology in vivo with near-histological details. OCT imaging allows physicians to identify age-related or pathologic changes in the structure of the retina or vasculature, particularly in diseases such as age-related macular degeneration in humans, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly.
Through collaborations with veterinary ophthalmologist Dr. Sara Thomasy, they are now using OCT technology to study retinal anatomy in rhesus macaques at the California National Primate Research Center. Potential projects for STAR students include:
1) Comparison of normal retinal and vascular structure between humans and rhesus macaques
2) Evaluation of retinal pathology such as "drusen" deposits in geriatric rhesus macaques
3) Assessment of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in relationship to intraocular pressures in rhesus macaques
More details about Dr. Yiu are available at: https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/eyecenter/yiulab/index.html
Contact Dr. Yiu: gyiu@ucdavis.edu