Frederik J. Van Kuijk is a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences at, the University of Minnesota. Dr. Van Kuijk is particularly interested in treating patients with Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). He has a long track record of research into the pathogenesis of AMD. In addition, he sees patients with diabetic retinopathy and inherited retinal degeneration. Dr. Van Kuijk's clinical and research interests are laser tissue interaction, the molecular basis of and the role of genetics on the efficiency of nutritional intervention in Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), and the use of investigational drugs in AMD and diabetic retinopathy.
Sandra Montezuma M.D is a Professor in Ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota. She earned her medical degree from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. She did her first residency training in ophthalmology at the Fundacion Oftalmologica de Santander, Colombia in 2001. She completed 10 more years of training at Harvard Medical School. In 2001 she joined the Boston Retinal Implant Project at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary/Harvard Medical School, where she performed basic science research for nearly 4 years. After her Research fellowship, she completed a second surgical internship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2005, a second residency in ophthalmology in 2008 and a Surgical Retina fellowship in 2010 at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary/Harvard Medical School. She joined the University of Minnesota in 2010. She is the current chief of the retina department at the UMN. Her research interest includes translational research in Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Inherited Retinal Diseases, retinal implants, retinal prosthesis, and retina surgery. Being a part of discovering cures for blinding conditions is Dr. Montezuma’s passion. Dr. Montezuma has subspecialty expertise in providing medical and surgical care for all retina diseases in adults and children, including macular degeneration, inherited retinal dystrophies, diabetic retinopathy, retina detachments, macula holes, eye trauma, and retinopathy of prematurity.
Dr. Altaf A. Kondkar received a Ph.D. in Applied Biology from the University of Mumbai, India in 2003. Dr. Altaf A. Kondkar is an Associate Professor at the Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Dr. Altaf A. Kondkar’s research interests mainly focus on ophthalmology, genetics, and molecular biology.
Dr. Rakesh Radhakrishnan is a Postdoctoral Associate at the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences, University of Minnesota. He completed his PhD studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) India in 2018. He is a trained molecular biologist with experience in epigenetics and biological sciences in the visual sciences field. He is interested in exploring the transcriptome and epigenetics mechanisms of myosin family proteins in photoreceptor cell development and function.
Dr. Glenn P. Lobo was awarded his PhD degree from the University of Technology Sydney, Australia. He then completed his Postdoctoral training at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH. Dr. Lobo was recruited from the Medical University of South Carolina and joined the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences at the University of Minnesota in April 2021. His research interests include the role of membrane receptors in dietary Vitamin A transport to the eye; mechanisms of retinal cell degeneration and regeneration; zebrafish and mouse genetics; the role of motor proteins in rhodopsin localization and trafficking; genetics of Ushers Syndrome; and the genetics of retinitis pigmentosa.
