Pediatric Ophthalmic Pathology—Integrating Clinical and Basic Research

Dear Colleagues,

The leading causes of blindness and low vision in the United States are primarily considered to be age-related eye diseases, such as macular degeneration, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, amblyopia, and strabismus. However, it is a well-known fact that children can similarly present with blinding ocular diseases and low-vision pathologies, including Peters anomaly, Axenfeld–Reiger syndrome, glaucoma, cataract, refractive errors, strabismus, and amblyopia, which negatively impact their growth and development, with lifelong consequences. Therefore, any visual impairment must be detected as soon as possible, and research is needed to address a lack of mechanistic and biological understanding of eye development and the pathophysiology of blinding diseases, as well as a lack of clinically relevant endpoints and molecularly targeted treatments to prevent blindness and restore vision in affected individuals. Thus, effective collaboration between researchers and clinicians is crucial to rapidly translate basic research discoveries into much-needed clinical applications. To this end, we are launching this Special Issue to highlight recent advancements in pediatric ophthalmic research to help bridge the gap between basic science and clinical practice.

This Special Issue is now open for submissions. Prospective authors in various fields, including molecular, cell, and developmental biology, genetics, immunology, and clinical and ocular biology, using multiple-model systems, such as zebrafish, frogs, birds, rabbits, and mice, as well as human subjects, are encouraged to send a short abstract or tentative title to the Editorial Office. If the topic is deemed appropriate for inclusion, then the author will be encouraged to submit a full manuscript to this Special Issue.

Dr. Antionette L. Williams
Dr. Brenda L. Bohnsack
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.