Research sheds light on graft rejection after keratolimbal allograft
On October 18, 2014, at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), Dr. Medi Eslani’s work on “Late Acute Rejection of Keratolimbal Allografts” received the highest grade by the Annual Meeting Program Committee and was selected as the Best Poster in the Cornea Section. (click here to view poster) AAO is a professional medical association of ophthalmologists. Its membership includes more than 90 percent of the practicing ophthalmologists in the United States, as well as over 7,000 members abroad.
“It is an honor to be part of this multicentric study with Dr. Edward J. Holland and Dr. Ali R. Djalilian, who have extensive experience with limbal stem cell transplantation in patients with severe ocular surface diseases. Our study sheds light on graft rejection, which is the most common problem after keratolimbal allograft,” said Dr. Eslani. Co-author Dr. Asadolah Movahedan added, “We collected patients’ data from three different institutions who have substantially contributed to ocular surface transplantation in the past decade.” Dr. Eslani noted that he was particularly pleased to be congratulated by the renowned Dr. Claes H. Dohlman, who is recognized as the founder of modern corneal science.
Dr. Eslani is a member of the Department’s Corneal Epithelial Biology and Tissue Engineering Laboratory directed by Dr. Djalilian who recognizes the hard work of his research team, including the collaboration with Dr. Holland at the Cincinnati Eye Institute. “This study highlights the importance of prolonged systemic immunosuppression after limbal allograft transplantation and it helps us improve the long-term outcome of this procedure.” Dr. Djalilian stated.
Dr. Eslani was recently selected to join the UIC K-12 Independent Clinical Vision Scientist Development Program under the leadership of Dean Dimitri Azar. The K-12 program is funded by the National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health.