Rafael Grytz, Ph.D.Rafael Grytz, Ph.D., associate professor of ophthalmology in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, has been awarded tenure. Dr. Grytz joined the department in 2012, and he is proud of his work over the last 10 years. “I’m honored to receive tenure, because, to me, it shows the confidence our department has in me and my laboratory. It means a lot,” said Dr. Grytz.
Interim Chair of the department Brian Samuels, M.D., Ph.D., said, “I am incredibly thankful and proud of the exceptional efforts made by Dr. Grytz. He is an exceptional representative of the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and the university. This honor is very well deserved, and we are all looking forward to his work that is yet to come.”
Dr. Grytz received his Master of Science and Ph.D. in civil engineering, both with distinction, from the Ruhr University Bochum in Germany. In 2009, he was awarded the “Deustche Studienpreis,” 2nd prize, by the President of the German Parliament in recognition of his substantial and innovative Ph.D. research work with outstanding relevance to society. After obtaining his Ph.D., Dr. Grytz completed a one-year postdoctoral fellowship under the direction of J. Crawford Downs, Ph.D., followed by an appointment as research associate at the Devers Eye Institute in Portland, Oregon. He has presented and published his interdisciplinary research work across different research disciplines related to ophthalmology, bioengineering, and computational mechanics.
One of his proudest accomplishments has been his role in the tree shrew core, where he serves as the director. “Establishing this important resource as the largest colony in the nation is of importance, I think. It allows me to foster and accelerate not only my own research but also the research of many of my colleagues at UAB. To be able to help others succeed and translate research ideas faster into the clinic is very rewarding to me,” said Grytz.
Our eyes are composed of living tissues, which grow and remodel in response to mechanical, chemical, and visual stimuli. Dr. Grytz seeks to understand the biomechanical mechanisms that underlie growth and remodeling in the eye during physiological and pathological conditions. His particular research interest includes growth and remodeling in myopia, glaucoma, and keratoconus. Ongoing projects include the investigation of visually guided mechanisms controlling the axial length of the eye through scleral remodeling; loss and weakening of stromal collagen in keratoconus; and the IOP-dependent remodeling of the optic nerve head in glaucoma. The Grytz Lab develops experimental and computational methods to image, quantify, and simulate growth and remodeling mechanisms at various length scales, from the molecule to the organ. His laboratory’s goal is to provide predictive computational simulation tools that support the development of new diagnostics and patient-specific therapeutics in ocular diseases and conditions.
In addition to his ongoing projects, Dr. Grytz is looking forward to a new cornea project with William Dupps, M.D., Ph.D., of the Cleveland Clinic (Ohio) and Andrew Rollins, Ph.D., of Case Western Reserve University (Ohio). “I started my scientific career with computational biomechanics but focused much of my time at UAB on animal models, imaging, and experimental biomechanics,” he said. “I am excited to circle back around and use our computational biomechanics tools to advance precision medicine in ophthalmology by using imaging-informed computational models of the cornea to predict surgical outcomes.”