March Research Update

ARCS Members and Friends Are Cordially Invited to a

 Research Update

"The vitreous gel of the eye: an example of protective aging"

by Dr. Eileen Hwang

March 25, 2020 at 3:30 p.m.
Moran Eye Center Auditorium
65 Mario Capecchi Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132

Our presenter for this update will be former ARCS scholar, Eileen Hwang.  She grew up in New Jersey, where she received her BA in physics from Princeton University and her MD and PhD at Rutgers University.  She came to the Moran Eye Center for ophthalmology residency, where the ARCS foundation supported her research on cavitary optic disc anomaly, an inherited disease of the eye.  It was formerly believed that patients with this disease were born with abnormal optic nerves, but Dr. Hwang showed that they can be born with normal optic nerves and develop the abnormality later in life.  Therefore, it may be possible to prevent these patients from losing vision by preventing them from developing abnormalities in the first place.

After residency, Dr. Hwang went to the Medical College of Wisconsin for a surgical vitreoretinal fellowship and developed a new area of interest – the vitreous gel of the eye.  There, she completed several projects describing methods to measure age-related changes in the vitreous gel in human patients.  In Fall 2019, she returned to the Moran Eye Center to bring her findings in patients to a new level by starting a vitreous research laboratory.  Her goal is to prevent vision loss from retinal diseases by inventing new ways to modify aging of the vitreous.  In her spare time, Dr. Hwang enjoys human-powered travel in the mountains and desert.

Light refreshments will be served

Please RSVP by March 24, 2020  either on-line, by email, or by calling 801-560-3587

Questions?  Please contact utahevent@arcsfoundation.org