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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Bryan Winn, MD

Associate Professor

 

Chronic Inflammatory Eye and Orbital Diseases

Dr. Bryan J. Winn is an ophthalmologist who specializes in oculoplastic surgery: treating disorders of the eyelid, tear drainage system, and orbit (cavity containing the eye). He also performs aesthetic rejuvenation procedures for the face. Winn studies how the environment, nutrition and the human microbiome (all the microorganisms living on and inside a human body) may play roles in chronic inflammatory eye and orbital diseases. Winn has published more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific articles and several book chapters.

 

To Learn More:

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/bryan.winn


 

Research Areas:

Oculoplastics, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Visual System Function in Adults
 
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Alexander Smith, PhD

Assistant Professor

 

Molecular Mechanisms that Mediate Glial Barrier Function

Glial barriers form at the boundary of healthy nervous system tissue where they control exchange of substances with the surrounding fluids, form a protective barrier to seal off damaged areas and co-ordinate immune signalling with the periphery. By studying the molecular mechanisms that mediate glial barrier function Dr. Smith hopes to improve understanding of their role in disease, optimize the delivery of therapeutics to the central nervous system and identify novel targets for therapeutic intervention.

 

To Learn More:

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/alexander.j.smith


 

Research Areas:

Neuro-Ophthalmology, Retina or Retinal Diseases, Visual System Development
 
 
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Creig Hoyt, MD

Professor

 

Visual Recovery and Adaptations to Early Visual Loss

Dr. Hoyt's major research interests have been in the areas of visual deprivation states, brain injuries in children, and strategies for visual recovery and/or adaptations to early visual loss.

 

To Learn More:

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/creig.hoyt


 

Research Areas:

Neuro-Ophthalmology, Pediatric, Amblyopia, Strabismus, or Eye Movement Disorders
 
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Daniel Adams, PhD

Assistant Professor

 

Neural Adaptations that Occur in the Childhood Disease of Strabismus

Dr. Adams is a visual neuroscientist specializing in binocular vision in humans and non-human primates. He uses psychophysical, behavioral, electrophysiological, and anatomical techniques to study the primate visual system at a number of levels from the retina to the cortex. He is currently investigating the neural adaptations that occur in the childhood disease of strabismus.

 

To Learn More:

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/daniel.adams


 

Research Areas:

Neuro-Ophthalmology, Amblyopia, Strabismus, or Eye Movement Disorders
 
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Jonathan C. Horton M.D., Ph.D.

Professor

 

Neural Mechanisms Underlying Visual Loss

Jonathan C. Horton MD PhD specializes in pediatric ophthalmology, strabismus, treatment of double vision, and neuro-ophthalmology. He earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, where he also received a PhD in Neurobiology in the laboratory of Nobel prize winners David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel. He did a medical internship and a year of neurology residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital, followed by ophthalmology residency at Georgetown University. Horton completed fellowships in neuro-ophthalmology and pediatric ophthalmology at the University of California, San Francisco. He is now Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology and Physiology, and a member of the Program in Neuroscience. His research interests fall into three broad categories: 1) clinical neuro-ophthalmology and pediatric ophthalmology, inquiring into the features, causes, and treatment of disorders that impair vision; 2) physiology and anatomy of the primate visual system, using knowledge acquired from NIH-funded laboratory experiments in monkeys to understand how the brain mediates perception; 3) strabismus, elucidating the neural mechanisms of visual suppression, amblyopia, and eye movement control in subjects with ocular misalignment. Horton is the recipient of the Troutman-Véronneau Prize, Bressler Prize in Vision Science, Alcon Research Award, and the Osler Distinguished Teaching Award from the UCSF Class of 2011.

 

To Learn More:

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/jonathan.horton
https://hortonlab.ucsf.edu

 

Research Areas:

Amblyopia Strabismus or Eye Movement Disorders, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Pediatric, Exotropia, Visual suppression, Central visual pathways
 
 
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Ari Green, MD

Professor

 

Understanding multiple sclerosis (MS) and related disorders

Division Chief of one of the largest Neuroimmunology research groups in the world, Dr. Green is dedicated to understanding multiple sclerosis and related disorders. The Green lab is particularly interested in developing means of harnessing glial biology to help repair damage to the central nervous system and in measuring this repair using vision-based metrics with an enhanced understanding of the visual system. His team has developed and optimized methods for performing visual evoked potentials and electroretinography in rodents and tools for determining the cellular and molecular basis of the signals detected. Also, he led the clinical translational team dedicated to the development of small molecules capable of remyelination and independently led the first successful clinical trial for remyelination in the setting of chronic injury in MS. He has mentored 19 postdoctoral fellows, 4 visiting fellows/faculty, 31 medical students and 10 specialists to careers in Medicine or lab research. He committed to mentoring residents and medical students with an interest in Neurology, Neuro-immunology, and Neuro-ophthalmology. He is helping to mentor junior faculty with an interest in careers in translational science and works closely with partners and colleagues from the basic sciences to cultivate a mentorship program. The Green lab will provide opportunities for Scholars with an interest in translational vision sciences, visual system injury and repair, and clinical trials work.

 

To Learn More:

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/ari.green
https://greenlab.ucsf.edu/
 

Research Areas:

Neuro-Ophthalmology, Multiple Sclerosis, Visual System Function in Adults
 
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