Team leader
Associate Professor Holly Chinnery
The Cornea and Ocular Surface Research group conducts discovery, translational, and clinical research projects using cutting-edge technologies to better understand disease mechanisms and develop innovative therapeutics for corneal and ocular surface diseases. By connecting laboratory scientists, optometrists, and ophthalmologists, our group provides a comprehensive platform aimed at preventing and treating corneal disease and blindness.
Our discovery projects utilise advanced corneal imaging techniques to visualise and investigate the dynamic behaviours of corneal immune cells to understand how the corneal nervous and immunological systems interact in the context of homeostasis, inflammation, injury, and neurodegenerative diseases. This approach allows us to identify early subclinical changes, which may serve as markers for disease progression or response to therapy in conditions such as keratoconus and neurological diseases.
Our translational research focuses on optimizing stem cell therapy for ocular surface regeneration, addressing advanced ocular surface diseases such as chemical burns, chronic eye surface inflammation, dry eye disease, contact lens-induced injury, and other severe ocular surface disorders. We have developed methods for differentiation of patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into corneal stem cells. In addition, we have established the congenital aniridia biobank, which aims to develop novel techniques for personalised gene and cell-based therapies to improve treatment outcomes for this inherited eye disease.
