University of Houston College of Optometry Professor John O’Brien, a leading expert on retinal neuroscience, has received $2.6 million from the National Eye Institute to continue more than 20 years of research on electrical synapses and gap junction plasticity, which affects not just the retina, but also a wide range of other neurological functions.
The University of Houston is co-leading a $25M national study, the first of its kind in the United States, exploring whether atropine eyedrops can delay the onset of nearsightedness in young children and lessen its progression over a lifetime.