Jeffrey W. Kiel, Ph.D., professor of vascular physiology in the ophthalmology department, was recently granted the Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) Lew R. Wasserman Merit Award. The award provides unrestricted support to mid-career M.D. and Ph.D. scientists who hold primary positions within ophthalmology departments and who are actively engaged in eye research.
Dr. Kiel’s $55,000 award will help Health Science Center ophthalmology research teams pursue promising scientific leads and expand research into new areas.
“I feel honored to receive this merit award that will allow us to further our research” Dr. Kiel said. “With it, we will be able to do additional experiments to help us understand how the eye behaves normally and how to best treat diseases like glaucoma.”
Dr. Kiel researches blood flow in the eye and how it is affected by intraocular pressure. Elevated intraocular pressure is a major risk factor for developing glaucoma, and restoring normal intraocular pressure is the primary treatment for the disease.
“Dr. Kiel is a star researcher in the ophthalmology department and has been recognized as one of the most knowledgeable researchers of ocular circulation in the world,” said W.A.J. van Heuven, M.D., professor and chairman of ophthalmology. “Because of his international recognition, he earned the Research to Prevent Blindness Wasserman Award; and thanks to Dr. Kiel's successful research, our knowledge of how the eye's circulation affects the pressure in the eye (glaucoma) has changed. We now have a better understanding of why certain drugs work better than others. In many ways, his research forms part of the foundation of our search to develop new drugs for glaucoma treatment.”
Dr. Kiel is recognized worldwide for his expertise in understanding eye blood vessels. His current research is focused on the ciliary body, the specialized tissue that secretes the clear fluid called aqueous. The aqueous fills the front of the eye and generates the intraocular pressure while the ciliary blood vessels provide nourishment that makes aqueous secretion possible. Dr. Kiel’s laboratory was the first to show how this occurs by simultaneously measuring ciliary blood flow and aqueous secretion. He holds a grant from the National Institutes of Health that is now in its twelfth year.
Dr. Kiel received his Ph.D. degree in physiology from the Health Science Center in 1987. He joined the department of ophthalmology in 1992.
