Candidate. I am a cornea fellowship trained ophthalmologist who would like to gain additional experience in epidemiology, bio-statistical analysis and implementation of randomized controlled trials by pursuing a K23 grant. My long-term goal is to become an independent investigator with a focus on design of randomized controlled trials in cornea. I currently hold a K12 through UC Berkeley to study fungal corneal ulcer treatment in India and Nepal. In addition, I am researching corneal transplant outcomes in Ethiopia and am the Principal Investigator on the Corneal Preservation Time study at UCSF. My previous vision research in ophthalmology includes work with the World Health Organization on Trachoma, as well as investigating the ocular manifestations of HIV disease. Research Strategy. Fungal keratitis is a major cause of monocular blindness in the developing world. The best treatment of fungal keratitis has not been well characterized. The Mycotic Ulcer Treatment Trials (MUTT I and II) are two NEI-funded randomized trials designed by our group to determine the best available treatment of fungal keratitis. The goal of my K23 is to perform secondary analyses of the trial data to determine whether organism, in vitro antifungal activity and other presentation characteristics predict in vivo efficacy in the treatment of fungal corneal ulcers. Career Development Plan. I will gain applied experience by working on this research under the excellent mentorship of Tom Lietman MD, Nisha Acharya MD, Stephen Mcleod MD and Hobart Harris MD. UCSF/Proctor has multiple large clinical trials in different stages of development, recruitment and analysis. As I will also have the opportunity to get involved in these studies, Proctor provides the ideal learning environment for me. During the course of my training grant I will conduct a prospective cohort study looking at the efficacy of collagen cross-linking in the treatment of infectious keratitis. In addition, I will participate in the Training in Clinical Reserch (TICR) courses offered by the UCSF Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, as well as weekly meetings with the multi-disciplinary Proctor International Research Group where I will learn practical applications of clinical trial research.
Corneal opacities, which are commonly caused by infectious keratitis, are the 4th leading cause of blindness worldwide. Outcomes of fungal keratitis are generally poor and the best treatment is not known. This study seeks to determine whether fungal organism and in vitro antifungal activity predict in vivo efficacy in the treatment of funga corneal ulcers. I will also investigate the efficacy of collagen cross-linking in the treatment of infectious keratitis.
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