Longitudinal Analysis of Silicone Hydrogel (LASH) Study

描述(申请人提供)：这个K23项目有两个目的：1)它为Loretta Szczotka，O.D.，M.S.提供研究职业发展和培训，她承诺专注于以患者为导向的研究，在临床研究中开始独立的职业生涯。2)它为她提供了必要的知识和研究技能，将凯斯西储大学(CWRU)研究人员之前进行的研究结果转化为拟议的临床研究项目-硅胶水凝胶(LASH)接触镜纵向分析研究。这项为期五年的计划将导致1)CWRU流行病学和生物统计学系的流行病学博士学位，2)眼免疫学相关基础和临床科学学科的额外培训，3)更好地科学理解硅胶连续佩戴(CW)隐形眼镜的炎症和机械并发症的因素和机制。Lash隐形眼镜研究和她在流行病学方面的培训将使应聘者能够在生物统计学、免疫学和眼科学领域的杰出科学家导师的指导下，在研究设计、实施、数据管理和数据分析的所有阶段担任首席研究员，从而提高她在临床专业领域的独立研究技能。Lash隐形眼镜研究将检验补体激活和调节以及晶状体和眼表细菌污染是隐形眼镜相关炎症并发症的风险因素的假设。此外，该项目还将检验这样一种假设，即通过角膜地形图测量的新的量化中央和外周角膜形状描述符与长期配戴硅胶水凝胶镜片时的机械并发症有关。在这项纵向队列研究中，224名患者将被纳入并随访三年。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This K23 project serves two purposes: 1) It provides research career development and training for Loretta Szczotka, O.D., M.S., who has made a commitment to focus on patient-oriented research, to launch an independent career in clinical research. 2) It provides her with the knowledge and research skills necessary to translate the findings of previous studies performed by investigators at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) into the proposed clinical research project, the Longitudinal Analysis of Silicone Hydrogel (LASH) Contact Lens Study. The five-year program, will to lead to 1) the Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at CWRU, 2) additional training in the relevant basic and clinical science discipline of ocular immunology, and 3) a better scientific understanding of the factors and mechanisms of inflammatory and mechanical complications of silicone hydrogel continuous wear (CW) contact lens use. The LASH Contact Lens Study, and her training in epidemiology, will allow the candidate to enhance her independent research skills in an area of her clinical expertise, by serving as principal investigator in all phases of the study design, implementation, data management, and data analysis under the guidance of outstanding scientist-mentors in the fields of biometrics, immunology, and ophthalmology. The LASH Contact Lens Study will test the hypothesis that complement activation and regulation coupled with bacterial contamination of lenses and the ocular surfaces are risk factors for contact lens associated inflammatory complications. Additionally, this project will test the hypothesis that novel quantitative central and peripheral corneal shape descriptors, measured by corneal topography, are associated with mechanical complications during long term wear of silicone hydrogel lenses. 224 patients will be enrolled and followed for three years in this longitudinal cohort study.