Profile

Andrew Pucker, OD, MS, PhD

Lexitas Pharma Services, Inc

Contact Details

Lexitas Pharma Services, Inc

Bio

I began my higher education at the University of Wisconsin-Fond du Lac, and I later transferred to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse to complete my BS degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology. After graduating, I worked at as a research technician studying viral cancers and arthritis for two years. While working full-time in the laboratory, I was able to make time to explore what professional training would best suit my clinical interests; in the end, I decided that the combined OD/MS program at The Ohio State University College of Optometry was the perfect choice because I found it to be an ideal blend of evidence-based medicine and direct patient care. My MS degree focused on the tear film, dry eye, and contact lenses. After graduating with these degrees in 2011, I decided to broaden my research interests by enrolling in The Ohio State University’s PhD in Vision Science program. The goal of my dissertation research has been to better understand the physiology of the ciliary muscle and how it is related to the development of juvenile myopia. Presently, myopia researchers are at a loss to explain the full mechanism of myopia onset and progression. Therefore, I have begun a series of studies exploring the novel hypothesis that changes in mechanical forces in the anterior segment of the eye are related to the development of myopia. The ciliary muscle is a likely candidate for involvement in this process, and gaining a better understanding of how the ciliary muscle responds to its physical environment is a next logical step in deciphering the mystery of myopia. After graduation, I hope to continue this work as a tenure-track professor at a major university.