About Our Research
David Krizaj, PhD, is the principal investigator of a National Eye Institute-funded laboratory with research interests that include intraocular pressure regulation, photoreceptor signaling, and the role calcium plays in neuropathological disorders.
Dr. Krizaj is the John Frederick Carter Endowed Professor of Ophthalmology at the John A. Moran Eye Center, and deputy director of research. He also serves as associate director of science for the Alan S. Crandall Center for Glaucoma Innovation at the Moran Eye Center, and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Utah Departments of Neurobiology and Anatomy and Bioengineering.
Research Interests
- Glaucoma
- Mechanisms of Calcium Homeostasis
- Diabetic Retinopathy
- Vision
- Neuron-Glia Interaction
- TRPV1
- Astrocytes
- Synaptic Transmission
- Retina
- Retinal Degeneration and Cell Biology
- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
- Calcium Channel Blockers
- Cellular mechanisms of neurotoxicity and the role calcium plays in neuropathological disorders
How Does Our Research Help Patients?
Because photoreceptors are very fragile cells and sensitive to mutations, they tend to be the first cells to die in retinal degeneration, causing blindness in millions of Americans. Crucially, the calcium ion controls both the perception and transmission of the light signal and photoreceptor degeneration and death, making an understanding of its regulation important from both basic science and clinical aspects.
Updates From Our Team
Crandall Center Initiatives in Action
The Alan S. Crandall Center for Glaucoma Innovation leads the field in four areas: surgical and medical therapeutics, translational research, neuroprotection-based therapies, and global care.
What's Next in Glaucoma Innovation?
Some of the biggest leaps researchers at the Alan S. Crandall Center for Glaucoma Innovation are taking come in small packages.
Glaucoma Treatments May Also Help Soldiers With Blast Trauma
While studying the mechanisms that cause pressure to damage the eye, Moran researcher David Krizaj, PhD, and his team made exciting discoveries that relate cell injury in glaucoma to that from blast pressure.