New director of UF Vitreoretinal Service aims to build program

Retina and biochemistry expert Shalesh Kaushal, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed director of the University of Florida’s Vitreoretinal Service and an assistant professor in the College of Medicine’s department of ophthalmology.

Kaushal, previously with the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, hopes to make the UF service one of the premiere eye treatment programs of its type in the Southeast. Currently, many patients in the region suffering from inherited or acquired vitreous or retina diseases must travel elsewhere for specialized testing and care, he said.

The vitreous, located behind the lens, is a transparent, jellylike substance that fills the eyeball. The retina is a delicate, light-sensitive membrane at the back of the eye and contains cells that process visual stimuli into nerve impulses.

Kaushal plans to focus his research on rhodopsin and EFEMP1, proteins that are normally expressed in the eye and have folded shapes.

Mutations in these proteins cause them to fold incorrectly, leading to diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration.

Retinitis pigmentosa is a slowly progressive disorder where there is loss of peripheral and night vision with eventual loss of central vision. Macular degeneration gradually destroys the macula, the region of the retina critical for central vision but does not affect peripheral vision. Age-related macular degeneration currently is the leading cause of blindness in the Western world.