O’Rese J. Knight, MD

Associate Professor

 

Enhancing Glaucoma Management and Expanding Ophthalmology Workforce Diversity

Dr. O’Rese J. Knight is an ophthalmologist who specializes in glaucoma and cataract surgery. He serves as the medical director of the John Muir/UCSF Health Berkeley Outpatient Center eye clinic and was recently named the director of the UCSF Glaucoma Fellowship. Dr. Knight leads a multi-disciplinary team in developing a novel approach to 24-hr IOP monitoring. He has previously lead trials evaluating the clinical utility of a contact lens-based IOP monitor. Dr. Knight’s team is currently developing a novel technology  using self-sensing cantilevers capable of automated, accurate assessment of the corneal biomechanical response to intraday IOP fluctuation. This technology has the power to capture nocturnal IOP spikes and provide rapid assessment of response to treatment.  Beyond, clinic and research Dr. Knight is a passionate clinical educator and mentor. He has worked with NIH-funded Rabb-Venable (RV) Excellence in Ophthalmology Program for many years to recruit URiM trainees to academic careers in ophthalmology. Ophthalmology has one of the least diverse workforces in the house of medicine and this lack of diversity has been directly linked to disparities eye health utilization and worse eye care outcomes. The RV program has been a significant driver of diversity in the ophthalmology workforce since its inception in 2000.  

 

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Research Areas:

Cataract, Glaucoma, Workforce Diversity
 
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Luciano C. Greig, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor

 

Retinal Development and Regeneration

The Greig lab investigates genetic regulation of cell identity acquisition in the retina to inform development of stem cell therapies for currently irreversible causes of vision loss. The retina is a complex brain structure comprised of over 50 neuron types that are tasked with detecting light and processing this raw input to begin extracting visual information. We are interested in understanding how gene regulatory networks direct neural progenitors to generate these diverse classes and subtypes of retinal neurons, and how these neurons assemble into functional neural circuits. Our second goal is to formulate therapeutic strategies to repair retinal pathology by applying these basic developmental biology insights. In particular, we aim to reprogram Müller glia into replacement retinal ganglion cells or photoreceptors. As an additional area of interest, we focus on technology development, with a particular emphasis on genetic analysis and manipulation in mice. Currently, we are developing new methods for 1) mosaic analysis to facilitate phenotypic analysis of gene function at the cellular level and for 2) tracking cells during identity reprogramming experiments to detect instances of cell fusion, material transfer, or aberrant promoter activity.

 

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Research Areas:

Diabetic Retinopathy, Macular Degeneration, Myopia, Retina or Retinal Diseases, Stem Cell Research, Visual System Development, Retina Regeneration
 
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Simon Fung, MD MA(Oxon) FRCOphth

Associate Professor

 

Pediatric anterior segment and cornea transplantation

Dr. Simon Fung specializes in cataracts and corneal diseases in children and adults. His research focuses on complex corneal diseases, advanced diagnostics, and innovative treatments.

 

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Research Areas:

Cataract, Cornea, Pediatric, Anterior segment
 
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Tiffany A Chen, M.D.

Assistant Professor

 

Treatment of Pediatric Eye Disorders and Surgical Education

Dr. Tiffany A Chen is a specialist in pediatric ophthalmology and adult strabismus. She provides clinical care for all pediatric eye disorders including amblyopia, strabismus, and cataracts; additionally, she leads the pediatric inpatient service. Her research interests include improving the diagnosis and management of eye diseases in children, utilizing telemedicine in clinical care, and enhancing resident surgical education.

 

To Learn More:

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/tiffany.chen


 

Research Areas:

Amblyopia Strabismus or Eye Movement Disorders, Pediatric, Telemedicine, Surgical Education
 
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Marc Levin, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

 

Translational neuro-ophthalmologist

Dr. Marc Levin received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from UCSF. His graduate research in Biophysics focused on aquaporin (AQP) water channel and cystic fibrosis transmembrane channel (CFTR) physiology, especially in the cornea. Dr. Levin completed his residency in Ophthalmology plus a fellowship in Neuro-ophthalmology, both at the Scheie Eye Institute at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He was then elected the prestigious Society of Heed Fellows at the end of his training. He then returned to UCSF as an Assistant Professor and clinician-scientist in the Department of Ophthalmology. His primary research was in understanding roles for pathogenic autoantibodies against AQP4 in rodent models of neuromyelitis optica (NMO) optic neuritis. He also discovered and developed small-molecule CFTR activators as potential ocular surface therapies, and has been involved in advancing them to human trials. From 2016 to 2023, he practiced clinical neuro-ophthalmology, at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. He serves on multiple editorial boards in his field, and most recently as site and national principal investigator on multiple clinical studies of idebenone for the treatment of Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy. In 2023, he returned to the UCSF Department of Ophthalmology as an Associate Professor. Through renewed collaborations, he looks forward to developing new research directions, with the goal of making meaningful scientific contributions to improve his patients’ visual outcomes.

 

To Learn More:

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/marc.levin


 

Research Areas:

Amblyopia Strabismus or Eye Movement Disorders, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Visual System Function in Adults
 
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Jonathan Lu M.D.

Assistant Professor

 

Ophthalmic plastic (eyelid, lacrimal, orbit) clinician and researcher

Joining UCSF Ophthalmology’s Oculofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery division, Dr. Jonathan Lu brings expertise in clinical care and research on orbital inflammation, artificial intelligence, thyroid eye disease, and ocular oncology. Dr Lu performs the full spectrum of oculoplastic surgery including conditions of the eyelid, tear system, and orbit, for both adults and children. 

 

Research Areas:

Deep Learning / AI, Ocular Oncology, Oculoplastics, Thyroid eye disease, orbital inflammation, orbital disease, orbital trauma and fracture
 
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Yoshihiro Ishikawa, PhD.

Assistant Professor

 

Studying the structure-function relationship between collagen and its biosynthetic molecules

Yoshihiro Ishikawa, Ph.D. has studied how collagens are produced in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for over 15 years. Using diverse approaches, including biochemical, biophysical, and structural analysis and animal models, I have contributed significantly to the fundamental understanding of how collagen biosynthesis is orchestrated. He has functionally characterized over ten collagen-related biosynthetic molecules, including rER chaperones and enzymes required for posttranslational modifications. Furthermore, his in vitro studies identified unique patterns in collagen posttranslational modifications in different collagen types and specific molecular interactions between rER proteins, collagens, and other extracellular matrix proteins. While many studies on type IV collagen and its mutations using cell biology and model organisms have been reported, it’s still challenging to investigate the details of type IV collagen molecules with biochemical and biophysical approaches. To fill this important gap in our knowledge, he is uniquely qualified to conduct type IV collagen biochemistry and biophysics at UCSF.

 

To Learn More:

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/yoshihiro.ishikawa


 

Research Areas:

Gene Research, Retina or Retinal Diseases, Protein Folding and Quality Control
 
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