Outreach & Engagement

Areas of Research :: Medical Sciences :: Upstate Medical Center

Basic Cell Research · Other Exciting Research

Eye
Dr. Robert Barlow, professor of Ophthalmology at Upstate Medical University, is unlocking the role metabolic stress from low glucose plays in age-related macular degeneration. In reaching this goal, his research team is exploring what information the eye sends to the brain when an animal sees; how the brain processes the neural codes it receives from the eye; and how glucose, a major energy source for brain and eye function, modulates human visual sensitivity.

Heart
Dr. Jose Jalife, professor and Chairman of Pharmacology, professor of Biomedical Sciences Program, Medicine, Pediatrics, and director of Institute for Cardiovascular Research at Upstate Medical University, is finding that arrhythmia, the most common cause of sudden cardiac death, is the result of abnormal electrical impulses that rotate in the heart muscle at exceedingly high speeds and form eddies that behave like tornadoes. His research aims to prevent the molecular mechanisms that cause a change in the heart beat from a steady, powerful rhythm to an ineffective quiver known as ventricular fibrillation.

Hip
Dr. Kenneth Mann, professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Upstate Medical University, is focused on how joint replacements loosen and fail over time. The results of his research will help improve implant designs, materials and surgical techniques so that joint replacements last longer and can be used in younger/more active patients.

Mouth
Dr. Edward Shillitoe, professor and chairman of Microbiology and Immunology at Upstate Medical University, is modifying viruses to develop strains that would infect cancers and kill the abnormal cells. This could lead to improved treatment for cancers, such as cancer of the mouth, which have not been completely eliminated by standard treatments.
 

Left to Right: Dr. Robert Barlow; Dr. Jose Jalife; Dr. Kenneth Mann; Dr. Edward Shillitoe