Meredith Gregory-Ksander, PhD

Meredith Gregory-Ksander is an Associate Scientist at The Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Gregory-Ksander received her Ph.D. in Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy from Loyola University of Chicago in 1999 and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Schepens Eye Research Institute before joining the faculty at The Schepens Eye Research Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School in 2004. The research in Dr. Gregory-Ksander’s laboratory is focused on understanding the molecular mechanism(s) of RGC death in glaucoma, with the goal of preventing RGC death and preserving vision. With an expertise in cell biology and immunology, Dr. Gregory-Ksander has had a longstanding interest in how age-related changes in ocular immune privilege and subsequent inflammation contributes to the development of glaucoma. While the importance of inflammation in glaucoma is now recognized in the field of glaucoma, how it is triggered in and how it is controlled is largely unknown. Using multiple experimental models of glaucoma, Dr. Gregory-Ksander is working to identify the key inflammatory pathways involved in the pathogenesis of glaucoma in order to (i) elucidate the mechanism(s) by which inflammation contributes to the development of and/or progression of glaucoma and (ii) identify novel targets for the development of new therapeutics that will protect the retinal ganglion cells, prevent axon degeneration, and preserve vision in all types of glaucoma patients, irrespective of the intraocular pressure.