Glaucoma
Graduate School: Medical College at the Catholic University in Korea
Washington University in St. Louis (Post-doctoral Fellow)
Cellular and molecular mechanisms for neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, and neuroprotection in glaucoma and Alzheimer’s disease. Characterization of melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cell-mediated multiscale connectome in Alzheimer's disease.
2023 Top 2 Most Influential Ophthalmologists in the World, The Ophthalmologist (UK)
2023 An Inaugural Inductee in The Ophthalmologist Hall of Fame
Wonkyu Ju, Ph.D., is Professor of Ophthalmology specializing in Glaucoma. Dr. Ju received his M.S. and Ph.D. in the Department of Anatomy at Medical College of Catholic University in Korea and then completed a 2 year post-doctoral position in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms of cell death and protection in retinal ischemia and glaucoma.
Dr. Ju’s research focuses on the fundamental issues of mitochondria network and function in neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, and neuroprotection in glaucoma and Alzheimer’s disease. These include biological mechanisms for intraocular pressure, glutamate excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction in retinal ganglion cells and glial cells. Dr. Ju’s research also focuses on mitochondria-related gene therapy for retinal ganglion cell and glial cell protection in glaucoma and Alzheimer’s disease.