USC Roski Eye Institute

06/16/2026

Innovation, discovery, and dedication were on full display at the Roski Eye Institute's recent Grand Rounds, where senior residents presented their research to faculty, colleagues, and trainees. Their work reflects a commitment to advancing ophthalmic knowledge, improving patient care, and shaping the future of the field. Congratulations to our residents on their outstanding presentations and achievements.

06/10/2026

Can you spot the difference? 👁️

This reel shows visual simulations of how common eye diseases can affect vision, from the dark shadows caused by macular degeneration, to the tunnel vision associated with glaucoma, to the black spots and blurred vision experienced with diabetic retinopathy.

These conditions impact millions of people worldwide, which is why advancing vision research is so important. Through work in bioengineering and nanotechnology, epidemiology, imaging, inflammation and regeneration, and neuroregeneration, our researchers are helping drive new discoveries and treatments for eye diseases including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, dry eye, and more.

Protecting vision starts with awareness, regular eye exams, and continued innovation in research.

06/05/2026

Tears contain valuable biological information about what’s happening in the body. We are developing a next-generation implantable device that can continuously monitor biomarkers in tears and deliver treatment when needed.

While our initial focus is dry eye disease, the broader goal is to create a platform that combines sensing, wireless communication, and precision drug delivery to help detect and manage a range of diseases in a more personalized way.

This project brings together several of our department’s strengths, including bioengineering, nanotechnology, imaging, regeneration, and population health research. It’s a powerful example of how interdisciplinary science can drive innovation in patient care.

I’m Mark Humayun, MD, co-director of the USC Roski Eye Institute. Throughout my career, I’ve worked at the intersection of medicine and engineering, focused on developing technologies that improve patients’ lives.

With support from ARPA-H, my colleagues and I at USC and Caltech are advancing this technology and exploring new ways to monitor, detect, and treat disease more precisely. This work highlights the potential of engineering, science, and medicine to transform the future of health care.

05/29/2026

In the library of Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School, over a hundred 11th grade students passed ophthalmic trial lenses from hand to hand, peered through plus and minus prescriptions and flipped through the dotted plates of a color-vision test.

For a few hours, the space was transformed into a vision learning lab as our faculty and medical students from Keck School of Medicine of USC introduced these high schoolers, enrolled in their school’s Patient Care Pathway program, to careers in eye care.

The program was started three years ago by a collaboration between Bravo teacher Ly Hua and Jessica Chang, MD, an ophthalmologist at Los Angeles General Medical Center and an adjunct associate professor of ophthalmology at the USC Roski Eye Institute.

Full article available in the comments.

05/18/2026

For USC clinician-scientist Kyle Bolo, MD, his research mission starts with patients he sees in the clinic every day. All too often, they’ve already experienced some vision loss from an irreversible disease of the optic nerve that, without intervention, can lead to blindness. Inspired by his patients, he aims to improve glaucoma screening and fill in gaps in the field’s understanding of early detection efforts.

“Glaucoma is sort of a silent disease,” said Bolo, an assistant professor of clinical ophthalmology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “A lot of patients have been either undertreated or not treated at all, and they come in with advanced disease. That always hurts, because I can do everything in my power to help them maintain what they have, but there’s less to save, and it’s harder to save what remains. That strongly motivates my research.”

Full article available in the comments.

05/08/2026

The USC Roski Eye Institute is the birthplace of innovations in vision care, from retinal implants to genomic discoveries. Focusing on bioengineering, population science, imaging, immunology and neuroregeneration, we are ranked among the top 5 nationally in NIH research funding in our field according to the 2025 Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research rankings. This distinction contributes to the Keck School of Medicine of USC ranking #1 in NIH funding per investigator.

Learn more: https://keck.usc.edu/ophthalmology/

05/01/2026

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) will hold its annual meeting from May 3–7 in Denver, Colorado. The five-day event brings together eye and vision researchers from around the world — students, scientists at all career levels, and professionals in related fields — to share the latest findings and collaborate on innovative solutions.

USC will be well-represented at ARVO 2026, with 52 different presentations spanning the meeting’s program. Topics cover all sub-specialties of ophthalmology, showcasing USC’s strengths in vision science.

Related News USC ophthalmology resident Rahul Dhodapkar builds smartphone tool to screen for pediatric eye misalignment February 18, 2026 From lab to launch: Inside USC’s fast-growing ecosystem of health startupsFrom […]

04/24/2026

Throwback to when Dr. Lernik Torossian, assistant professor of clinical ophthalmology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and an optometrist at Keck Medicine of USC, led a morning lecture for our ophthalmology residents as Part 1 of her two-part series, covering topics such as vision rehab, sports vision, eye exam pearls, myopia management, prisms, and more, with a focus on practical tips for clinical care.

04/23/2026

Researchers led by Qifa Zhou, PhD, Distinguished professor at USC Viterbi School of Engineering and professor of biomedical engineering and ophthalmology at the Keck School, in collaboration with the UCLA Jun Chen Group, developed a revolutionary wireless implant that provides personalized chronic pain relief by utilizing machine learning algorithms and eliminating the need for bulky battery systems.

Full story in the comments.

Trojan and Bruin faculty and students often work together to tackle societal challenges and spark discovery in medicine, technology and more. (They even play games together!)

04/08/2026

University of Southern California was the first institution in Los Angeles to implant Encelto, a new cell-based gene therapy for macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel). Pictured are Dr. Andrew Moshfeghi (left), a noted vitreoretinal surgeon at Keck Medicine of USC, and retina fellow, Dr. Sam Asanad (right), implanting the microscopic device.

This technology marks a major milestone for the MacTel community, providing a novel therapy for a previously untreatable, vision-threatening disease.

Keck School of Medicine of USC