Adriana Di Polo: Neuronal and Vascular Dysfunction in the Injured Retina: New Insights from Live Imaging Studies

Abstract: Sight is essential for humans to gather critical information about their surroundings. The death of retinal ganglion cells is the cause of vision loss in most optic neuropathies including glaucoma. This presentation will focus on the identification of new mechanisms that promote early neuronal and vascular dysfunction after optic nerve damage.

Adriana Di Polo
Professor in Neuroscience and Ophthalmology
Canada Research Chair in Glaucoma and Age-Related Neurodegeneration
University of Montreal

Bio: Dr. Di Polo is Full Professor in the Departments of Neuroscience and Ophthalmology at the University of Montreal and currently holds a Canada Research Chair in glaucoma and age-related neurodegeneration (Tier 1). She completed her Bachelor of Science in biology from the Universidad Central de Venezuela (Caracas, Venezuela) and her Doctorate in physiology from the University of California (Los Angeles, USA). Dr. Di Polo then pursued postdoctoral training at the Center for Research in Neuroscience at McGill University (Quebec, Canada). 

In 2000, Dr. Di Polo became faculty at the University of Montreal where she has continued her studies of mechanisms leading to neuronal dysfunction and damage in glaucoma and other optic neuropathies. She has received continuous research funding throughout her career and is currently Principal Investigator on grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense USA, Glaucoma Research Foundation, and other competitive grants and awards from non-profit organizations as well as industry. 

Dr. Di Polo has received prestigious awards including the Foundation Fighting Blindness Young Investigator Award, the 2017 Frank Stein and Paul S. May Award for Innovative Glaucoma Research, and the 2019 Shaffer prize from the Glaucoma Research Foundation. She was recently named an ARVO Gold Fellow (2019) for her contributions to the vision research community. Dr. Di Polo serves on many organizational and advisory boards including the NIH Audacious Goals Initiative, BrightFocus Foundation, NIH Scientific Counselors, Canadian Association for Neuroscience, Glaucoma Research Society Program Committee, and is current Chair of the CIHR Neuroscience A panel. Dr. Di Polo is deeply committed to teaching and training vision scientists at all levels of education. She currently serves on the Women in Eye and Vision Research (WEAVR) committee, which offers networking and career development support for women from all over the world training in the field of eye and vision research.