Department of Ophthalmology News and Stories

Thirteen-year-old Grace Hoyt received potentially the best birthday gift ever this month when pediatric ophthalmologists at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado administered the first treatment designed specifically to slow her vision loss associated with posterior column ataxia with retinitis pigmentosa (PCARP), a rare genetic condition that affects vision and the nervous system.

Kara Mason | September 06, 2023

This summer, six-year-old Coleman Tawresey will go more than 12 consecutive weeks without a doctor’s appointment – something he hasn’t been able to do since being diagnosed with retinoblastoma when he was two.

Kara Mason | August 07, 2023

The state of modern AI is really exciting for health care. With increasing computing capabilities and access to vast datasets, new algorithms are being developed every day. In that sense, the technology has arrived, but there are many remaining challenges in implementing AI in clinical settings.

Toni Lapp | November 01, 2022

Generating retinas from stem cells and transplant technologies to restore human sight felt like just a dream for Valeria Canto-Soler, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology in the University of Colorado School of Medicine. When she joined the CU Department of Ophthalmology faculty in 2017, she signed on as the inaugural director of CellSight, the department’s ocular stem cell and regeneration research program, setting benchmarks 15 years in the future.

Rachel Wittel | September 12, 2022

The University of Colorado Department of Ophthalmology’s ocular stem cell and regeneration research program, CellSight, was awarded the top two prizes in the National Eye Institute’s 3D Retinal Organoid Challenge (NEI 3D ROC). The NEI, part of the National Institutes of Health, launched the three-phase challenge in 2017 to stimulate research using retina organoids. These organoids are similar to human retinas but are grown in a lab from stem cells, enabling researchers to study eye diseases and treatments noninvasively.

Toni Lapp | September 01, 2022

A $200,000 grant from the University of Colorado School of Medicine's Program to Advance Physician Scientists and Translational Research (CU ASPIRE) will support researchers to develop new, targeted therapies for those who have experienced vision loss following traumatic brain injuries.

Toni Lapp | August 24, 2022

A new service in Colorado will strengthen care and comfort for infants with retinopathy of prematurity through a hybrid in-person and telemedicine approach. Many infants born prematurely face the risks of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a potentially blinding eye disease that occurs because blood vessels in the back of the eye are not fully developed and could grow abnormally after premature birth.

Rachel Wittel | August 05, 2022