Research Laboratories for Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
The Carver College of Medicine is internationally recognized for its excellence and leadership in biomedical research. Among public medical schools, the College of Medicine ranks 11th in NIH funding in both the number of grants and total grant dollars per research faculty in public medical schools. University of Iowa Institute for Vision Research continues to garner funding for its ground-breaking research.
The University of Iowa is at the forefront among research universities in this country, and its contribution has been nationally recognized by such eminent authorities as the Carnegie Foundation, which classified The University of Iowa as having "very high research activity" among research universities.
The Molecular Ophthalmology Laboratory (MOL) is a human genetics facility directed by Dr. Edwin Stone. The MOL is at the forefront of discovering and characterizing mutations involved in common and rare human inherited retinal and choroidal diseases. The laboratory is a repository for tens of thousands of human DNA samples and over a million corresponding clinical images.
The Chorioretinal Degenerations Laboratory is directed by Rob Mullins, PhD. The major focus of this laboratory is to understand the cellular and molecular basis of macular diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and inherited maculopathies, in order to devise and deliver novel treatments.
The Steven W. Dezii Translational Vision Research Facility (DTVR) is a state of the art clinical Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) facility fully dedicated to the academic non-profit production of gene and autologous stem cell based treatments for rare inherited blindness. The Dezii facility is directed by Dr Budd Tucker and is housed within the Institute for Vision Research.
Research in Gene Therapy for eye diseases is under the auspices of Ian C. Han, MD, Stephen R. Russell, MD, Elliott H. Sohn, MD, Edwin Stone, MD, PhD, and Budd Tucker, PhD. Drs. Russell and Sohn have collaborated with the pioneering gene therapists Al Maguire and Jean Bennett at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to treat children who are blind from birth with Leber congenital amaurosis. In addition Drs. Han, Russell, Sohn, Stone and Tucker are investigating gene replacement therapies and gene directed therapies in rodents and pigs for other inherited retinal conditions, using cells generated in the Ruby Laboratory and viral vectors synthesized in the Dezii facility.
The Howard F. Ruby Retinal Engineering Facility is an endowed laboratory focused on combining state-of-the-art patient-specific stem cell derived retinal cells with biodegradable tissue engineering technologies for the treatment of blinding retinal degenerative diseases. The Ruby Facility is directed by Budd Tucker, PhD.
The John and Marcia Carver Nonprofit Genetic Testing Laboratory directed by Dr. Edwin Stone is dedicated to providing non-profit genetic testing for all rare retinal diseases.
See additional information at UI Institute for Vision Research. The institute supports and coordinates the vision research activities of nine existing research units at the University of Iowa.