Inaugural Professorial Lecture: Thao (Vicky) Nguyen

Description

Dr. Thao (Vicky) Nguyen, a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins, will give a talk entitled "Biomechanics of the Optic Nerve Head in Glaucoma" with a reception to follow.

Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by damage to the optic nerve axons and remodeling of the connective tissues in the optic nerve head. High pressure in the eye is a major risk factor for the disease, and lowering this pressure is currently the only effective way to slow the disease's progression. In this presentation, Nguyen will describe ongoing work to measure the deformation response of the cellular and connective tissue structures of the optic nerve head to pressure, characterize alterations with age and glaucoma, model the effects of structural variations on the deformation and stress response, and investigate the mechanisms through which stress can direct connective tissue growth and remodeling.