Research

Eric uses in vivo retinal imaging techniques to study neuroinflammation and photoreceptor function. His research shows that photoreceptor function can return to a region that has been focally damaged. Understanding how this process occurs could help to develop treatments for blinding retinal diseases.

Eric’s research utilizes novel in vivo imaging systems developed by the Burns & Pugh lab to study the intersection of microglia and photoreceptor function during inflammation. This has become a major focus of the lab since 2014 (see related publications).

Prior to joining the Burns & Pugh lab, Eric did Undergraduate Research with Paul Kammermeier at the University of Rochester. He has received numerous awards and honors during his PhD studies, including the Molecular and Cellular T32 and Vision Science T32 training grants and the Knights Templar Travel Award for the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO).

Publications from the Burns & Pugh lab

• Miller EB, Zhang, P, Ching K, Pugh EN Jr., & Burns ME. (2019) In vivo imaging reveals transient microglia recruitment and functional recovery of photoreceptor signaling after injury. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 116(33): 16603-16621. [PubMed]
• Ronning KE, Karlen SJ, Miller EB, & Burns, ME. (2019) Molecular profiling of resident and infiltrating mononuclear phagocytes during rapid adult retinal degeneration using single-cell RNA sequencing. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 4858. [PubMed]
• Zhang P, Manna SK, Miller EB, Jian Y, Meleppat RK, Sarunic MV, … Zawadzki, RJ. (2019) Aperture phase modulation with adaptive optics: a novel approach for speckle reduction and structure extraction in optical coherence tomography. Biomedical Optics Express, 10(2), 552–570. [PubMed]
• Karlen SJ, Miller EB, Wang X, Levine ES, Zawadzki RJ, & Burns ME. (2018) Monocyte infiltration rather than microglia proliferation dominates the early immune response to rapid photoreceptor degeneration. Journal of Neuroinflammation, 15(1), 344. [PubMed]
• Ronning KE, Allina GP, Miller EB, Zawadzki RJ, Pugh EN Jr, Hermann R, & Burns ME. (2018) Loss of cone function without degeneration in a novel Gnat2 knock-out mouse. Experimental Eye Research, 171. [PubMed]
• Wang X, Miller EB, Goswami M, Zhang P, Ronning KE, Karlen SJ, … Burns ME. (2017) Rapid monocyte infiltration following retinal detachment is dependent on non-canonical IL6 signaling through gp130. Journal of Neuroinflammation, 14(1). [PubMed]
• Burns, ME, Levine ES, Miller EB, Zam A, Zhang P, Zawadzki RJ, & Pugh EN Jr. (2016) New developments in murine imaging for assessing photoreceptor degeneration in vivo. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology (Vol. 854). [PubMed]