Expanding Personalized Treatment and Clinical Research in Uveitis

Uveitis refers to a group of diseases that can inflame and destroy tissue within the eye. Occurring in one or both eyes, suddenly or gradually, it can cause severe pain, redness and light sensitivity, blurred vision, and can lead to complications including glaucoma, cataracts, macular edema and impaired vision.

Uveitis is responsible for up to 30,000 new cases of legal blindness and roughly 10-15 percent of all cases of blindness in the U.S. each year.

Uveitis can occur at any age, but is more common in working age adults. It can result from infections, autoimmune diseases or injuries. Because uveitis can present in conjunction with systemic autoimmune diseases and other conditions that can drive treatment decisions, it requires a nuanced, patient-specific approach to care.

Kellogg has built a multidisciplinary team to deliver that care. The Uveitis Service is a referral hub for not only ophthalmologists, but primary care doctors, rheumatologists and dermatologists around the region to connect their patients with individualized care and the latest treatment options, including clinical trials. The goal is to make Kellogg’s Uveitis Service a center of excellence in both clinical care and translational research.

The Uveitis Team

The Uveitis team is anchored by specialists Therese Sassalos, M.D., Susan Elner, M.D. and Shilpa Kodati, M.B.B.S., who joined the service in 2023. Additional expertise is provided by April Marquardt, M.D., a rheumatologist with an interest in autoimmune eye diseases, cataract and uveitis specialist Zvi Kresch, M.D., who has expertise in complex uveitic cataract surgery, and inherited eye disease expert Thiran Jayasundera, M.D. Colleagues in pediatric ophthalmology and cornea are also consulted as needed.

The team is supported by a dedicated nurse, Lori Sager, R.N., responsible for monitoring immunomodulatory therapies and providing patient counseling. The multidisciplinary approach at Kellogg allows the uveitis clinic to provide the highest levels of individualized patient care.

Uveitis Research

Spearheading uveitis research is Dr. Kodati, who has been recognized as one of two investigators supported annually by Kellogg’s NIH Mentored Clinician Scientist Training Grant (K12).

To understand the mechanisms of uveitis, Dr. Kodati is studying the molecular and cellular pathways that drive the disease. She is also investigating immunogenetic risk factors, as well as the role of the gut microbiome.

“Using bio-specimens from uveitis patients is a necessary tool, since animal models of the disease, while useful, don’t represent the heterogeneity of uveitis in humans,” she explains. “We also need patient data to better understand the many factors that could explain variations in treatment response, to help us design new therapies.”

With support from the K12, Dr. Kodati is overseeing the development of a uveitis biorepository at Kellogg. Recently granted IRB approval, work is underway to collect clinical data and bio-samples including peripheral blood and intraocular samples. Fecal samples will also be collected for microbiome analysis.

Header image caption: Shilpa Kodati, M.B.B.S.