The National Eye Institute at NIH recently awarded Dr. Brittany Coats a $409K two-year grant titled Quantitative Regional Analysis of Vitreoretinal Adhesion with Age. The grant began March 1, 2016 and will be focused on elucidating mechanisms of adhesion at the vitreoretinal interface, and quantifying how those mechanisms change with age. The data will be extremely informative for understanding and developing treatments for posterior vitreous detachment, as well as developing mechanically accurate computational models of the human eye.

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(Left) Peel test to measure adhesion between the vitreous and retina. (Right) Transmission electron microscopy image of the vitreoretinal interface highlighting the collagen fibers intersecting with the retina. (Mag: 10,000x)