Welcome to the GRYTZ Lab
Our eyes are composed of living tissues, which are constantly remodeling in response to mechanical, chemical, and visual stimuli. In particular, the loadbearing collagenous structures of the eye can undergo substantial growth and remodeling during physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Our research is driven by the desire to elucidate the biomechanical mechanisms that underlie growth and remodeling in ocular conditions and diseases such as myopia, glaucoma, and keratoconus. Ongoing projects include the investigation of visually guided mechanisms controlling the axial length of the eye through scleral remodeling; the intraocular pressure-driven remodeling of the optic nerve head in glaucoma; and loss and weakening of stromal collagen in keratoconus. The laboratory’s goal is to develop experimental and computational methods to quantify and simulate growth and remodeling of the eye that support the development of new diagnostics and patient-specific therapeutics in ocular diseases and conditions.