Faculty & Staff Spotlights
Glick Eye Institute welcomes three new faculty members, 10 researchers
Aug. 29, 2013
The IU School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology will host a welcome reception for three new faculty members at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute who recently arrived from the University of Florida, along with their research colleagues.
Michael Boulton, Ph.D.
The reception is scheduled from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, in Spitzberg Hall at the Glick Eye Institute. Faculty and staff will have the opportunity to meet Michael Boulton, Ph.D., Maria Grant, M.D., and Ashay Bhatwadekar, Ph.D.
Prior to the reception, a memorial service for Fred M. Wilson II, M.D., who died Aug. 23, will be held in the same location.
Dr. Boulton will be the first director of basic science research and hold the Merrill Grayson Senior Chair in Ophthalmology; his wife and fellow researcher, Dr. Grant, will be the first to hold the new Marilyn K. Glick Senior Chair. Dr. Bhatwadekar has been named an assistant professor of ophthalmology.
“We are thrilled to welcome Drs. Boulton, Grant and Bhatwadekar to the Glick Eye Institute,” said Louis B. Cantor, M.D., professor and chair of ophthalmology and Jay C. and Lucile L. Kahn Professor of Glaucoma Research Education. “They are widely known and respected for their research, and we are pleased Dr. Boulton will shepherd our growing basic science program.”
Previously, Dr. Boulton served as director of research and professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Florida. His research has focused on age-related changes in the retina and retinal neovascularization. Dr. Grant is the past director of translational research in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Florida, where she also held professorships in ophthalmology; physiology and functional genomics; medicine; and psychiatry. Her research focuses on understanding and repairing the damage to blood vessels in the eye as a result of diabetes, a major cause of blindness and vision loss.
Maria Grant, M.D.
“I believe the environment at IU is very supportive of cutting-edge cell and molecular research, and the top administrators recognize the importance of building a strong vision science research and education program,” Dr. Boulton said. “The newly built Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute offers amazing potential, and I am looking forward to working with Dr. Grant and existing faculty to make this one of the top 10 vision research and training institutes in the U.S.”
Dr. Boulton also serves as a professor in biochemistry and molecular biology and of optometry and vision science and holds an appointment to the graduate school faculty. His research into age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Grant’s research is supported by the National Eye Institute, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, and Florida Department of Health James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program. Her secondary appointments include professorships in cellular and integrative physiology and optometry and vision science.
Ashay Bhatwadekar, M.D.
“I am looking forward to working with the faculty and administration at the Glick Eye Institute to build a strong basic science program that will advance not only basic research, but also translational studies that will move cell therapy forward for vision-threatening conditions such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy,” she said.
Dr. Bhatwadekar's research focuses on understanding pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy and developing newer treatments.His research mentor is Dr. Grant.
"It's very rewarding when I see my hypothesis transforming into well designed and novel experiments," he said. "The most meaningful aspect of my job is observing how a small idea originated in lab transforms into a ground breaking treatment in clinics for millions of patients worldwide."
Additional members of the Boulton-Grant research team who will be welcomed at the Sept. 6 reception include:
- Zhigang Cai, B.S., Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow
- Sergio Li Calzi, Ph.D., senior scientist
- Rehae Miller, Ph.D., assistant scientist
- Sayak Mitter, Master of Technology, Bachelor of Technology, research Fellow
- Dung Nguyen, graduate student
- Tatiana Salazar, B.Sc., graduate student
- Lynn Shaw, M.S., M.S., M.B.A., Ph.D., senior scientist
- Xiaoping Qi, M.Sc., M.D., senior scientist
- Qingwen (Kevin) Qian, M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc., Post doc fellow
- Jude Al-Sabah, B.Sc., M.Sc., research associate
To RSVP, email vkherman@iupui.edu by Wednesday, Sept. 4.
Light refreshments will be served.
