Resident Research Focuses on Tissue Banking to Treat Corneal Disease Olivia Killeen, M.D., didn’t have to look far when the time came to choose a residency program. The University of Michigan medical school graduate was impressed with the Kellogg Eye Center and its focus on health services research in ophthalmology. “Not a lot of ophthalmology programs are doing this type of research,” says the third-year resident, noting that the opportunity to connect with like-minded faculty mentors was a major draw. Health services focuses on the delivery of health care, including how it can be improved and made accessible to a larger population, says Dr. Killeen. “We have very advanced interventions in ophthalmology, but they’re not accessible to a lot of people,” she says, citing insurance considerations and those living in rural areas as just a few of the issues preventing optimal care for many patients. Dr. Killeen’s interest in expanding access to eye care led to a study of corneal transplantation. 20
The objective of the study was to look at corneal tissue supply and demand, and to come up with ways to increase the global supply. Because many countries don’t have enough donations of corneal tissue, patients there aren’t able to get corneal transplants to cure their blindness. The study took her to Taiwan, where Kellogg ophthalmologist Kaz Soong, M.D., connected her with the cornea department at the National Taiwan University Hospital. She set out to determine if hepatitis B in donor corneal tissue was transmissible to patients. “We discovered that transplanting corneal tissue from a donor with hepatitis B to a recipient with hepatitis B was safe,” says Dr. Killeen. “This protocol could be used safely in other countries with endemic hepatitis B and could have significant implications for improving the supply of corneal tissue around the world.”
