New Dobbs Lab for Ocular Immunology Research

Emory Eye Center has been awarded a $1 million grant from the R. Howard Dobbs Jr. Foundation. The grant’s purpose: to establish a new laboratory supporting the research of Santa Jeremy Ono, who is investigating the role of the immune system in the origin and development of age-related macular degeneration, or AMD.

Rufus Howard Dobbs Jr., an alumnus of Emory University, knew firsthand the debilitating effects of AMD. As a result, he particularly wanted to help underwrite the cost of vision research. In 2003, funding from his estate awarded Emory Eye Center an estate gift, specifically designated for research in macular degeneration.

In the new R. Howard Dobbs Jr. Ocular Immunology Lab, Dr. Ono will work with Eye Center retina specialist Sunil Srivastava. Dr. Ono’s research team studies three major healthcare problems: the immune component of AMD, ocular cancer (melanoma and retinoblastoma), and ocular inflammation.

“I am honored to work with outstanding colleagues at the Emory Eye Center,” Dr. Ono says, “and I’m committed to making the Dobbs Laboratory a world center for research into this facet of AMD. Emory research not only will help uncover how the immune system contributes to macular degeneration, but it will also pave the way for the development of new diagnostics that are at the heart of predictive medicine.”