Recent donation and inaugural endowed chair appointment advance pioneering research and treatment at UC San Diego’s Shiley Eye Institute

Hanna and Mark Gleiberman’s dedication to supporting eye health and research at the University of California San Diego is yielding transformative results. Their philanthropic support is strengthening the fight against glaucoma by funding innovative research and securing its scientific leadership.

The couple recently provided a $1 million gift to establish the Gleiberman Family Fund for Retinal Vascular Biology Research within the Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology and Shiley Eye Institute.

This gift adds to the couple’s foundational gift of $20 million in 2022 to establish the Hanna and Mark Gleiberman Center for Glaucoma Research at UC San Diego. The center reached a significant milestone earlier this year, with the appointment of Wonkyu “Daniel” Ju, Ph.D., as the inaugural holder of the Hanna and Mark Gleiberman Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Glaucoma Research, which was established with the Gleibermans’ gift.

“We are so grateful to Hanna and Mark Gleiberman for their longstanding support of vision and glaucoma research in UC San Diego’s Department of Ophthalmology,” said Robert N. Weinreb, M.D., Distinguished Professor and Chair, Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology. “Private support drives innovative research, which then translates into better treatments and cures for our patients suffering from debilitating eye diseases.”

The newly established Gleiberman Family Fund for Retinal Vascular Biology Research will support collaborative investigations led by Eric Nudleman, M.D., Ph.D., in partnership with Richard Daneman, Ph.D., exploring the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate retinal vascular biology with the goal of identifying new therapeutic targets for blinding retinal diseases.

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Hanna and Mark Gleiberman

“The Gleibermans’ generous support to the Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology will accelerate retinal vascular research and drive innovation helping to transform lives far beyond the lab,” said Nudleman.

Nudleman’s clinical focus is on vitreoretinal diseases and surgery, with a special interest in pediatric vitreoretinopathies. His laboratory focuses on retinal vascular diseases including the mechanism of vascular leakage, neovascularization and fibrosis.

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Eric Nudleman, M.D., Ph.D.

“Hanna and I are thrilled with the progress we have seen thus far with the glaucoma research from the talented physicians and scientists at the Shiley Eye Institute, which is clearly a world leader in glaucoma research,” said Mark Gleiberman. “We are particularly happy to see the opening of the Viterbi Family Vision Research Center, which will provide state-of-the-art facilities to continue the outstanding research being done at UC San Diego. We have been very impressed with the work of Dr. Nudleman and his team and look forward to seeing great breakthroughs in his research providing cures for retina disease.”

Hanna and Mark Gleiberman Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Glaucoma Research

Building on the momentum fueled by the Gleibermans to find a cure for glaucoma, UC San Diego named Wonkyu “Daniel” Ju, Ph.D., professor in the Hamilton Glaucoma Center and Shiley Eye Institute, Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology, and affiliate professor in the Shu Chien–Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering, as the inaugural holder of the Hanna and Mark Gleiberman Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Glaucoma Research.

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Wonkyu “Daniel” Ju, Ph.D.

This position was established through the Gleibermans’ 2022 gift, which created three new endowed chairs to recruit and retain exceptional vision scientists. Ju is the first to be appointed to one of the chairs.

Ju has spent the past 16 years at the Shiley Eye Institute researching the role of mitochondrial networks in neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation and neuroprotection in glaucoma and Alzheimer’s disease. He is investigating gene-based treatments to protect and restore vision of individuals with glaucoma.

“This endowed chair represents a powerful investment in the future of glaucoma research,” said Ju. “With this support, we have the opportunity to accelerate work that will transform how we understand and treat the disease — and directly impacts patients’ lives. I'm honored to carry this work forward.”

Endowed chairs play a crucial role in driving research at UC San Diego, with funds providing a dedicated, ongoing source of funds for the chairholder’s scholarly activities, faculty salaries and graduate fellowships. To learn about supporting research at UC San Diego and the value of faculty endowed chairs, visit giving.ucsd.edu/support/research. For more about the Shiley Eye Institute, please visit shileyeye.ucsd.edu.

Original Story