A Q&A with Ram Nagaraj, PhD
Professor, Ophthalmology, CU Anschutz School of Medicine
HIE Impact Innovation Champions are CU Anschutz faculty and staff embedded across campus who are helping shape a culture where ideas become impact. Through this spotlight series, we’ll introduce you to the Champions driving change from within — the connectors, catalysts, and collaborators who are making innovation more visible, accessible, and actionable for all. Get to know what motivates them, the discoveries they’re championing, and how they’re helping move bold ideas toward patient and societal benefit.
In a sentence or two, what's your discovery?
We are developing peptide-based and gene delivery methods to prevent vision loss in glaucoma.
What motivated you to do this research?
Over the past several years, I have been studying small heat shock proteins. Their remarkable ability to intercept numerous biochemical pathways harmful to cells has captivated my interest. Our discoveries led us to investigate their therapeutic potential in preventing retinal ganglion cell death, the principal pathological event underlying vision loss in glaucoma and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). My colleagues, Drs. Mi-Hyun Nam and Mina Pantcheva in Ophthalmology, have contributed significantly to these studies.
What's the potential impact of your discovery?
People with glaucoma can slowly lose their vision over many years if the pressure inside the eye is not well controlled with eye drops or surgery. These treatments work for many patients, but some do not respond and continue to lose vision. Another condition is NAION, sometimes called an “eye stroke,” in which people lose part of their vision suddenly because blood flow to the eye drops sharply. Our treatments are focused on protecting and preserving vision in these patients. The laboratory studies we have completed so far show encouraging results, and further research may lead to clinical trials in the near future.
"The laboratory research we conduct today has the potential to lead to significant advances in medicine over the long term. Thinking early about translational applications and working with the Innovations Office at CU (CU Anschutz Innovations) can help guide this research toward the development of therapies with the potential to have a profound impact on disease treatment."
What near-term milestones are you most excited about?
Our biotech startup, Eyegenex, Inc., based in San Diego, CA, plans to conduct a Phase I clinical trial to evaluate our peptide therapy for NAION.
What future directions do you wish to expand this discovery?
Our immediate goal is to develop a peptide-based therapy to save vision in patients with NAION. The long-term goal is to apply our peptide and gene therapies to preserve vision in patients with acute and chronic glaucoma.
Learn more about Dr. Nagaraj's work here.
