Novel Visualization of Aqueous Outflow: Uncovering Glaucoma Mechanisms and Therapeutic Targets

This project uses a novel imaging platform to, for the first time, non-invasively visualize and quantify aqueous drainage in the living eye with subcellular resolution, uncovering mechanisms regulating outflow and eye pressure, and identifying new targets that may enable personalized glaucoma therapies.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness and is strongly influenced by elevated pressure and impaired fluid drainage from the eye. We developed a new imaging method that visualizes and quantifies this drainage with microscopic precision in the living eye, uncovering new insights into outflow dynamics and opening opportunities for discovery and therapeutic innovation in glaucoma.

This proposal introduces a novel imaging platform that visualizes and quantifies aqueous drainage with subcellular resolution in the living eye. Unlike existing approaches, it enables direct, continuous, and longitudinal measurement of flow in relation to microanatomy within Schlemm’s canal and downstream drainage pathways in vivo. By revealing how outflow is organized and modulated, this platform establishes a powerful new framework for mechanistic discovery and the identification of new therapeutic targets in glaucoma.

This study will establish a first-of-its-kind framework for directly visualizing and quantifying aqueous drainage dynamics in the living eye – non-invasively, continuously, and with subcellular resolution – fundamentally advancing our ability to understand how outflow is regulated and how it may fail in glaucoma. By identifying new control points in the drainage pathway, this work will open new avenues for more targeted and personalized glaucoma therapies. For the millions living with glaucoma worldwide, these advances hold the promise of new and personalized treatments that better preserve vision and quality of life.