About the Alan S. Crandall Center for Glaucoma Innovation

Committed to Change

Nearly 80 million adults and children are living with glaucoma, a blinding disease that will rob them of their eyesight. That number is projected to rise to 112 million people by 2040, unless we act now.

A Drive to Discover

Founded in 2021, the Alan S. Crandall Center for Glaucoma Innovation is named for the late Moran Eye Center glaucoma surgeon and legendary humanitarian.

Directed by Iqbal "Ike" K. Ahmed, MD, FRCSC, the Crandall Center is leading the way to better diagnostics, safer and more effective therapies and surgical devices, a deeper understanding of glaucoma and its genetics, and expanded access to care.

Four center initiatives are leveraging unique resources to drive discovery.

Crandall Center Initiatives

Glaucoma Therapeutics

Translational Research

Neuroprotection-Based Therapies

Global Care

Our Unique Resources

Utah Population Database

The Utah Population Database (UPDB) is a one-of-a-kind resource that contains genealogical, public health, medical and environmental exposure records for more than 20 million people. The UPDB is one of the world’s richest sources of data that supports health and genetic research. Interdisciplinary teams of scientists have used the UPDB to identify genes and risk factors for dozens of diseases, including breast and ovarian cancers, colon cancer, and heart arrhythmia.

Intermountain Ocular Research Center

The Intermountain Ocular Research Center conducts studies on artificial lenses used to replace the eye’s natural one, or intraocular lenses (IOLs). Research performed by the center, established in 1982, has improved the quality and design of IOLs, developed new surgical techniques now used by most implant surgeons, and spurred the withdrawal of poorly designed IOLs from the marketplace. More than 1,000 peer-reviewed publications guide companies and physicians worldwide as they vet new IOL technology and complications through the center.

Sharon Eccles Steele Center for Translational Medicine

The Sharon Eccles Steele Center for Translational Medicine is a model for how academia can more quickly advance and fund research by establishing synergistic partnerships between university departments, international academic collaborators, philanthropists, and private industry. By conducting multiple phases of the drug discovery process simultaneously, the SCTM has been successful in moving discoveries more efficiently into clinical trials. Among the SCTM’s resources is the world’s largest donor eye tissue repository of its kind with 10,000 pairs of eye available for research. Data derived from studying tissue and accompanying medical records are remarkably robust and have led to collaborative research and development agreements with industry.

Global Outreach Division

Moran's Global Outreach Division is a premier institute for ophthalmology outreach in the United States and has relationships with eye care providers worldwide. The internationally recognized program works to build sustainable access to high-quality eye care in Utah and developing nations. It is a North American academic partner of India’s Aravind Eye Care System, the world’s largest health care provider. Aravind is renowned for its unique ability to manufacture safe, effective, low-cost surgical devices for use in the developing world.