Our research analyzes the bacterial and host factors involved in ocular infectious diseases. Our goal is to develop novel and improved therapeutics to combat these blinding infections.
We work with in vitro cell culture models of retinal and corneal cells and can analyze these models for viability, death by apoptosis/necrosis, cytokine/chemokine synthesis, barrier dysfunction, etc. and by fluorescent, brightfield, and confocal microscopy. We also work with in vivo models of eye infections, including keratitis and endophthalmitis caused by various species of ocular bacterial pathogens. We can analyze our in vivo models using biomicroscopy, indirect ophthalmoscopy, electroretinography, optical coherence tomography, optokinetic tracking, and study infection parameters such as pathogen replication, cytokine/chemokine responses and cellular infiltration, and histology/immunohistochemistry.
Please visit http://calleganlab.org for more information on our research.