Professor James Morgan

Professor in Ophthalmology, Consultant Ophthalmologist

: MorganJE3@cardiff.ac.uk
: +44 29208 76344

My research is aimed at understanding the structural and cellular changes occurring at the level of the optic nerve in glaucoma using clinical and laboratory based techniques. Glaucoma is one of the most common causes of vision loss in the UK population, affecting up to 2% of the population as a whole. Classically, it is associated with increased intraocular pressure, which causes the death of retinal ganglion cells and results in a slow and, if untreated, progressive loss of vision. In most cases, peripheral vision is lost first and is usually asymptomatic. By the time a patient notices restriction of visual field, advanced damage may have occurred to the optic nerve that is usually irreversible. Treatment is aimed at the reduction of eye pressure (intraocular pressure) to prevent this vision loss. Usually, this is achieved using eye drops although, in some cases, surgery or even laser treatment may be required. One of the key problems is in identifying the disease in its earliest stages and in detecting the first signs of retinal (optic nerve) damage.

As a consultant ophthalmologist, I run a glaucoma service at the University Hospital of Wales. I currently chair the Expert Working Group for the development of shared care glaucoma in Wales where we are working to develop the role of virtual clinics for the community care of patients with diagnosed glaucoma.

Clinical studies

These are based at the Retinal Imaging Laboratory and are directed at the quantification of structural optic nerve changes in the early stages of glaucoma. Since these precede the development of visual field changes as detected using clinical perimetric techniques, their detection should enable early disease diagnosis and improve the long-term prognosis for the patient. We are currently assessing the value of digital stereoviewing in the quantification of these nerve head changes. In addition, we are assessing the value of other imaging modalities such as OCT in the determination of optic nerve head changes that occur in early glaucoma.

Using a variety of in vivo and in vitro models of glaucoma, my group is investigating the mechanisms of retinal ganglion cell death in glaucoma. There is good evidence that these cells undergo a prolonged period of atrophy and remodelling prior to cell death, which is manifest as shrinkage and pruning in the cell body and dendritic processes. These changes will reduce the efficiency with which these cells can detect visual signals but also suggests that this damage could be reversed. We use techniques such as biolistics transfection to see if the overexpression of genes that might be beneficial for retinal neurons can result in cell rescue.

We are collaborating with Bruce Caterson in the School of Biosciences to determine the role of extracellular matrix and the perineuronal net in limiting the extent to which retinal ganglion cells can recover from injury.

We are developing techniques for the early detection of these changes using imaging techniques such as OCT. We are currently investigating the possibility that OCT can detect optical signal associated with sub-cellular changes that are the earliest changes that occur prior to cell death. These studies are being undertaken with Wolfgang Drexler and Boris Povazay in the Biomedical Imaging Group.

Date
Type

2018

Tribble, J. R., Williams, P. A., Caterson, B., Sengpiel, F. and Morgan, J. E. 2018. Digestion of the glycosaminoglycan extracellular matrix by chondroitinase ABC supports retinal ganglion cell dendritic preservation in a rodent model of experimental glaucoma. Molecular Brain 11(1), article number: 69. (10.1186/s13041-018-0412-5)
Read, S., Waterman, H., Morgan, J., Harper, R., Spencer, A. F. and Stanford, P. 2018. Glaucoma, dementia and the 'precipice of care': transitions between states of medication adherence. Patient Preference and Adherence 12, pp. 1315-1325. (10.2147/PPA.S167080)
Read, S., Waterman, H. and Morgan, J. 2018. Glaucoma, dementia and the 'precipice of care'. Presented at: UCL and Vision UK Dementia and Sight Loss Conference, London, UK, 22 June 2018.
Rountree, L., Mulholland, P. J., Anderson, R. S., Garway-Heath, D. F., Morgan, J. E. and Redmond, T. 2018. Optimising the glaucoma signal/noise ratio by mapping changes in spatial summation with area-modulated perimetric stimuli. Scientific Reports 8, article number: 2172. (10.1038/s41598-018-20480-4)
Erchova, I., Tumlinson, A. R., Fergusson, J., White, N., Drexler, W., Sengpiel, F. and Morgan, J. 2018. Optophysiological characterisation of inner retina responses with high-resolution optical coherence tomography. Scientific Reports 8, article number: 1813. (10.1038/s41598-018-19975-x)

2017

Rountree, L., Mulholland, P. J., Anderson, R. S., Morgan, J. E., Garway-Heath, D. and Redmond, T. 2017. Quantifying the signal/noise ratio with perimetric stimuli optimised to probe changing spatial summation in glaucoma [Abstract]. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 58(8)
Morgan, J., Tribble, J., Fergusson, J., White, N. and Erchova, I. 2017. The optical detection of retinal ganglion cell damage. Eye 31(2), pp. 199-205. (10.1038/eye.2016.290)

2016

Mitry, D. et al. 2016. The accuracy and reliability of crowdsource annotations of digital retinal images. Translational Vision Science & Technology 5(5), article number: 6. (10.1167/tvst.5.5.6)
Binley, K. E., Ng, W. S., Barde, Y., Song, B. and Morgan, J. E. 2016. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor prevents dendritic retraction of adult mouse retinal ganglion cells. European Journal of Neuroscience 44(3), pp. 2028-2039. (10.1111/ejn.13295)
Hoh Kam, J., Morgan, J. E. and Jeffery, G. 2016. Aged complement factor H knockout mice kept in a clean barriered environment have reduced retinal pathology. Experimental Eye Research 149, pp. 116-125. (10.1016/j.exer.2016.07.002)
Ng, W. S. et al. 2016. Automated registration of multimodal optic disc images: clinical assessment of alignment accuracy. Journal of Glaucoma 25(4), pp. 397-402. (10.1097/IJG.0000000000000252)

2015

Morgan, J. E. and Tribble, J. R. 2015. Microbead models in glaucoma. Experimental Eye Research 141, pp. 9-14. (10.1016/j.exer.2015.06.020)

2014

Tribble, J. R., Cross, S. D., Samsel, P. A., Sengpiel, F. and Morgan, J. E. 2014. A novel system for the classification of diseased retinal ganglion cells. Visual Neuroscience 31(6), pp. 373-380. (10.1017/S0952523814000248)
Anantrasirichai, N. et al. 2014. Adaptive-weighted bilateral filtering and other pre-processing techniques for optical coherence tomography. Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics 38(6), pp. 526-539. (10.1016/j.compmedimag.2014.06.012)
Tudor, D. et al. 2014. Non-invasive detection of early retinal neuronal degeneration by ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomography. PLoS ONE 9(4), article number: e93916. (10.1371/journal.pone.0093916)
Binley, K. E., Ng, W. S., Tribble, J. R., Song, B. and Morgan, J. E. 2014. Sholl analysis: A quantitative comparison of semi-automated methods. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 225, pp. 65-70. (10.1016/j.jneumeth.2014.01.017)

2013

Williams, P. A. et al. 2013. Retinal ganglion cell dendritic degeneration in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiology of Aging 34(7), pp. 1799-1806. (10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2013.01.006)
North, R. V. et al. 2013. Lamina cribrosa pore analysis in glaucomatous human optic nerve heads in vivo. Presented at: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Seattle, WA, USA, 5-9 May 2013.
Foxton, R. H. et al. 2013. VEGF-A is necessary and sufficient for retinal neuroprotection in models of experimental glaucoma. American Journal of Pathology 182(4), pp. 1379-1390. (10.1016/j.ajpath.2012.12.032)

2012

Morgan, J. E. 2012. Retina ganglion cell degeneration in glaucoma: an opportunity missed? A review [Review]. Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology 40(4), pp. 364-368. (10.1111/j.1442-9071.2012.02789.x)
Mortlock, K. E. et al. 2012. Three dimensional (3D) segmentation of normal and glaucomatous optic nerve heads in 1050nm optical coherence tomography (OCT) datasets. Presented at: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Fort Lauderdale, FL., USA, 6-9 May 2012.
Morgan, J. E., Bourtsoukli, I., Rajkumar, K. N., Ansari, E., Cunliffe, I. A., North, R. V. and Wild, J. M. 2012. The accuracy of the inferior>superior>nasal>temporal neuroretinal rim area rule for diagnosing glaucomatous optic disc damage. Ophthalmology 119(4), pp. 723-730. (10.1016/j.ophtha.2011.10.004)
Williams, P. . A., Piechota, M., Von Ruhland, C. J., Taylor, E., Morgan, J. E. and Votruba, M. 2012. Opa1 is essential for retinal ganglion cell synaptic architecture and connectivity. Brain 135(2), pp. 493-505. (10.1093/brain/awr330)

2011

Taylor, S., Calder, C., Albon, J., Erichsen, J. T., Boulton, M. E. and Morgan, J. E. 2011. Involvement of the CD200 receptor complex in microglia activation in experimental glaucoma. Experimental Eye Research 92(5), pp. 338-343. (10.1016/j.exer.2011.01.012)
Samsel, P. A., Kisiswa, L., Erichsen, J. T., Cross, S. D. and Morgan, J. E. 2011. A novel method for the induction of experimental glaucoma using magnetic microspheres. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 52(3), pp. 1671-1675. (10.1167/iovs.09-3921)
Williams, P. A., Morgan, J. E. and Votruba, M. 2011. Mouse models of dominant optic atrophy: what do they tell us about the pathophysiology of visual loss?. Vision Research 51(2), pp. 229-234. (10.1016/j.visres.2010.08.031)

2010

Kisiswa, L., Albon, J., Morgan, J. E. and Wride, M. A. 2010. Cellular inhibitor of apoptosis (cIAP1) is down-regulated during Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) maturation. Experimental Eye Research 91(5), pp. 739-747. (10.1016/j.exer.2010.08.024)
Williams, P. A., Morgan, J. E. and Votruba, M. 2010. Opa1 deficiency in a mouse model of dominant optic atrophy leads to retinal ganglion cell dendropathy. Brain 133(10), pp. 2942-2951. (10.1093/brain/awq218)
Mortlock, K. E. et al. 2010. 1050nm optical coherence tomography of the ageing and glaucomatous optic nerve head. Presented at: EUROMECH Colloquim, Imperial College, London, UK, 26-28 July, 2010.
North, R. V., Jones, A. L., Drasdo, N., Wild, J. M. and Morgan, J. E. 2010. Electrophysiological evidence of early functional damage in glaucoma and ocular hypertension. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 51(2), pp. 1216-1222. (10.1167/iovs.09-3409)
Lei, Y. et al. 2010. Transretinal degeneration in ageing human retina: a multiphoton microscopy analysis. British Journal of Ophthalmology 95(5), pp. 727-730. (10.1136/bjo.2010.180869)
Kisiswa, L., Dervan, A. G., Albon, J., Morgan, J. E. and Wride, M. A. 2010. Retinal ganglion cell death postponed: giving apoptosis a break?. Ophthalmic Research 43(2), pp. 61-78. (10.1159/000247591)

2009

Lei, Y. et al. 2009. Topography of neuron loss in the retinal ganglion cell layer in human glaucoma. British Journal of Ophthalmology 93(12), pp. 1676-1679. (10.1136/bjo.2009.159210)
Legg, P. A., Rosin, P. L., Marshall, A. D. and Morgan, J. E. 2009. A Robust Solution to Multi-modal Image Registration by Combining Mutual Information with Multi-scale Derivatives. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 5761, pp. 616-623. (10.1007/978-3-642-04268-3_76)

2008

Stumpf, T. H., Austin, M., Bloom, P. A., McNaught, A. and Morgan, J. E. 2008. Transscleral cyclodiode laser photocoagulation in the treatment of Aqueous Misdirection Syndrome. Ophthalmology 115(11), pp. 2058-2061. (10.1016/j.ophtha.2008.05.026)
Lei, Y., Garrahan, N. J., Hermann, B., Becker, D. L., Hernandez, M. R., Boulton, M. E. and Morgan, J. E. 2008. Quantification of retinal transneuronal degeneration in human glaucoma: a novel Multiphoton-DAPI approach. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 49(5), pp. 1940-1945. (10.1167/iovs.07-0735)
Legg, P. A., Rosin, P. L., Marshall, A. D. and Morgan, J. E. 2008. Incorporating neighbourhood feature derivatives with Mutual Information to improve accuracy of multi-modal image registration. Presented at: 12th Annual Conference on Medical Image Understanding and Analysis, Dundee, UK, 2-3 July 2008 Presented at McKenna, S. and Hoey, J. eds.Medical Image Understanding and Analysis 2008: Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference University of Dundee, 2-3 July 2008. Dundee: British Machine Vision Association pp. 39-43.

2007

Prashar, A., Guggenheim, J. A., Erichsen, J. T., Hocking, P. M. and Morgan, J. E. 2007. Measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP) in chickens using a rebound tonometer: Quantitative evaluation of variance due to position inaccuracies. Experimental Eye Research 85(4), pp. 563-571. (10.1016/j.exer.2007.07.010)
Povazay, B. et al. 2007. Minimum distance mapping using three-dimensional optical coherence tomography for glaucoma diagnosis. Journal of Biomedical Optics 12(4), article number: 41204. (10.1117/1.2773736)
Albon, J. et al. 2007. Connective tissue structure of the tree shrew optic nerve and associated ageing changes. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 48(5), pp. 2134-2144. (10.1167/iovs.06-0084)
Dhingra, N. and Morgan, J. M. 2007. Pseudophakic cystoid macular oedema: 30 months after latanoprost challenge. Eye 21(2), pp. 269-271. (10.1038/sj.eye.6702509)
Bennett, S. L., Hewitt, A. W., Poulsen, J. L., Kearns, L. S., Morgan, J. E., Craig, J. E. and Mackey, D. A. 2007. Screening for glaucomatous disc changes prior to diagnosis of glaucoma in myocilin pedigrees. Archives of Ophthalmology 125(1), pp. 112-116. (10.1001/archopht.125.1.112)

2006

North, R. V., Jones, A. L., Hunter, E., Morgan, J. E. and Wild, J. M. 2006. Evaluation of the high specificity Screening Program (C-20-1) of the Frequency Doubling Technology (FDT) perimeter in clinical practice. Eye 20(6), pp. 681-687. (10.1038/sj.eye.6701946)
Morgan, J. E., Datta, A. V., Erichsen, J. T., Albon, J. and Boulton, M. E. 2006. Retinal ganglion cell remodelling in experimental glaucoma. In: Hollyfield, J. G., Anderson, R. E. and LaVail, M. M. eds. Retinal Degenerative Diseases. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology Vol. 572. New York: Springer, pp. 397-402.

2005

Morgan, J. E., Sheen, N. J. L., North, R. V., Choong, Y. F. and Ansari, E. 2005. Digital imaging of the optic nerve head: monoscopic and stereoscopic analysis. British Journal of Ophthalmology 89(7), pp. 879-884. (10.1136/bjo.2004.046169)
Hadjikoutis, S., Morgan, J. E., Wild, J. M. and Smith, P. 2005. Ocular complications of neurological therapy. European Journal of Neurology 12(7), pp. 499-507. (10.1111/j.1468-1331.2005.01025.x)
Frenkel, S., Morgan, J. E. and Blumenthal, E. Z. 2005. Histological measurement of retinal nerve fibre layer thickness. Eye 19(5), pp. 491-498. (10.1038/sj.eye.6701569)
Morgan, J. E., Sheen, N. J., North, R. V., Goyal, R., Morgan, S., Ansari, E. and Wild, J. M. 2005. Discrimination of glaucomatous optic neuropathy by digital stereoscopic analysis. Ophthalmology 112(5), pp. 855-862. (10.1016/j.ophtha.2004.11.056)

2004

Morgan, J. E. 2004. Circulation and axonal transport in the optic nerve. Eye 18(11), pp. 1089-1095. (10.1038/sj.eye.6701574)
Sheen, N. J. L., Morgan, J. E., Poulsen, J. L. and North, R. V. 2004. Digital stereoscopic analysis of the optic disc - Evaluation of a teaching program. Ophthalmology 111(10), pp. 1873-1879. (10.1016/j.ophtha.2004.04.018)
Unterhuber, A. et al. 2004. Advances in broad bandwidth light sources for ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomography. Physics in Medicine and Biology 49(7), pp. 1235-1246. (10.1088/0031-9155/49/7/011)
Sinha, S., Pathak-Ray, V., Ahluwalia, H. and Morgan, J. E. 2004. Viagra or What?. Eye 18(4), pp. 446-448. (10.1038/sj.eye.6700697)

2003

Goyal, R., North, R. V. and Morgan, J. E. 2003. Comparison of laser interferometry and ultrasound A-scan in the measurement of axial length. Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica 81(4), pp. 331-335. (10.1034/j.1600-0420.2003.00092.x)
Akerman, C. J., Tolhurst, D. J., Morgan, J. E., Baker, G. E. and Thompson, I. D. 2003. Relay of visual information to the lateral geniculate nucleus and the visual cortex in albino ferrets. The Journal of Comparative Neurology 461(2), pp. 217-235. (10.1002/cne.10684)
Unterhuber, A. et al. 2003. Compact, low-cost Ti:Al_2O_3 laser for in vivo ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography. Optics Letters 28(11), pp. 905-907. (10.1364/OL.28.000905)
Choong, Y. F., Rakebrandt, F., North, R. V. and Morgan, J. E. 2003. Acutance, an objective measure of retinal nerve fibre image clarity. British Journal of Ophthalmology 87(3), pp. 322-326. (10.1136/bjo.87.3.322)
Rakebrandt, F., North, R. V., Erichsen, J. T., Drasdo, N., Fowler, C., Cowey, A. and Morgan, J. E. 2003. The construction of a model eye for investigation of laser-tissue interactions in scanning laser ophthalmoscopy. Optometry & Vision Science 80(3), pp. 252-258. (10.1097/00006324-200303000-00015)
H. Aldebasi, Y., Drasdo, N., Morgan, J. E. and V. North, R. 2003. Cortical OFF-potentials from the S-cone pathway reveal neural damage in early glaucoma. Vision Research 43(2), pp. 221-226. (10.1016/S0042-6989(02)00435-2)

2002

Ansari, E. A., Morgan, J. E. and Snowden, R. J. 2002. Psychophysical characterisation of early functional loss in glaucoma and ocular hypertension. British Journal of Ophthalmology 86(10), pp. 1131-1135. (10.1136/bjo.86.10.1131)
Drasdo, N., Aldebasi, Y. H. F., Mortlock, K. E., Chiti, Z., Morgan, J. E., North, R. V. and Wild, J. M. 2002. Ocular optics, electroretinography and primary open angle glaucoma. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics 22(5), pp. 455-462. (10.1046/j.1475-1313.2002.00078.x)
Morgan, J. E. 2002. Retinal ganglion cell shrinkage in glaucoma. Journal of Glaucoma 11(4), pp. 365-370. (10.1097/00061198-200208000-00015)
Morgan, J. E. 2002. Retinal ganglion cell shrinkage in glaucoma. Journal of Glaucoma 11(4), pp. 365-370.
Ansari, E. A., Morgan, J. E. and Snowden, R. J. 2002. Glaucoma: squaring the psychophysics and neurobiology. British Journal of Ophthalmology 86(7), pp. 823-826. (10.1136/bjo.86.7.823)
Rosin, P. L., Marshall, A. D. and Morgan, J. E. 2002. Multimodal retinal imaging: new strategies for the detection of glaucoma. Presented at: 2002 International Conference on Image Processing, Rochester, NY, USA, 22-25 September 2002Proceedings of the 2002 International Conference on Image Processing, Vol. 3. IEEE pp. III-137., (10.1109/ICIP.2002.1038923)

2001

Sheen, N. J. L., Aldridge, C. E., Drasdo, N., North, R. V. and Morgan, J. E. 2001. The effects of astigmatism and working distance on optic nerve head images using a Heidelberg retina tomograph scanning laser ophthalmoscope. American Journal of Ophthalmology 131(6), pp. 716-721. (10.1016/S0002-9394(00)00898-9)
Jones, A. L., Sheen, N. J. L., North, R. V. and Morgan, J. E. 2001. The Humphrey optical coherence tomography scanner: quantitative analysis and reproducibility study of the normal human retinal nerve fibre layer. British Journal of Ophthalmology 85(6), pp. 673-677. (10.1136/bjo.85.6.673)
Drasdo, N., Aldebasi, Y. H. F., Chiti, Z., Mortlock, K. E., Morgan, J. E. and North, R. V. 2001. The S-cone PhNR and pattern ERG in primary open angle glaucoma. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 42(6), pp. 1266-1272.
Aldebasi, Y. H., Drasdo, N., North, R. V. and Morgan, J. E. 2001. The pattern electroretinogram (PERG) with contralateral corneal reference. Ophthalmic And Physiological Optics 21(3), pp. 243-246. (10.1016/S0275-5408(00)00021-1)
Morgan, J. E., Poulsen, J. L., North, R. V. and Sheen, N. J. L. 2001. Digital stereoscopic optic disc assessment: evaluation of a teaching module. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 42(4), pp. S133-S133.
Wild, J. M., Kim, L. S., North, R. V. and Morgan, J. E. 2001. Stimulus size and the variability of the threshold response in Short Wavelength Automated Perimetry (SWAP). Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 42(4), pp. S153-S153.
North, R. V., Aldebasi, Y. H., Drasdo, N. and Morgan, J. E. 2001. Electrophysiological evidence for widespread dysfunction in S-cone and L and M-cone pathways in ocular hypertension. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 42(4), pp. S148-S148.
Rakebrandt, F. et al. 2001. Comparison of histological primate retinal nerve fibre layer and full retinal thickness using optical coherence tomography.. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 42(4), pp. S133-S133.
Goyal, R., Rakebrandt, F., Turner, J., North, R. V. and Morgan, J. E. 2001. Measurement of axial length using laser interferometry in a model eye. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 42(4), pp. S55-S55.
Sheen, N. J. L., Goyal, R., Wild, J., North, R. V. and Morgan, J. E. 2001. Evaluation of digital stereoscopic optic disc images using a Z screen. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 46(4), pp. S19-S19.
Choong, Y. F., Rakebrandt, F., North, R. V. and Morgan, J. E. 2001. Acutance, an objective measure of the quality of retinal nerve fibre layer images. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 42(4), pp. S16-S16.
Morgan, S. J. S., Sheen, N. J. L., North, R. V. and Morgan, J. E. 2001. A comparison of cup-to-disc ratios determined by glaucoma clinic ophthalmoscopy and a computer aided stereoscopic image analysis system. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 42(4), pp. S16-S16.
Jones, A. L., Aldebasi, Y. H., Drasdo, N., North, R. V. and Morgan, J. E. 2001. Survival of the S-cone retinal pathway in normotensive glaucoma. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 42(4), pp. S147-S147.
Ansari, E. A., Morgan, J. E. and Snowden, R. J. 2001. Diffuse loss of contrast sensitivity in early glaucoma [Abstract]. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 42(4), pp. S559.
Escardo, J. A., Pal, B., Feyi-Waboso, A., Lane, C. M. and Morgan, J. E. 2001. Orbital cellulitis caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum. American Journal of Ophthalmology 131(2), pp. 280-281. (10.1001/archopht.122.4.652)

2000

Morgan, J. 2000. Optic nerve head structure in glaucoma: astrocytes as mediators of axonal damage. Eye 14(3B), pp. 437-444. (10.1038/eye.2000.128)
Ansari, E. A., Morgan, J. E. and Snowden, R. J. 2000. Detection of early functional loss in glaucoma. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 41(4), pp. S291-S291.
North, R. V., Aldebasi, Y. H., Drasdo, N. and Morgan, J. E. 2000. Electrophysiological profile of retinal function in primary open angle glaucoma.. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 41(4), pp. S86-S86.
Morgan, J. E., Sheen, N., Choong, Y., Ansari, E. and North, R. 2000. Digital stereoscopic analysis of the optic disc.. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 41(4), pp. S289-S289.
Jones, A. L., Sheen, N. J. L., North, R. V. and Morgan, J. E. 2000. Reproducibility of the Humphrey Optical Coherence Tomography Scanner. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 41(4), pp. S290-S290.
Morgan, J. E., Uchida, H. and Caprioli, J. 2000. Retinal ganglion cell death in experimental glaucoma. British Journal of Ophthalmology 23(3), pp. 92-99.
Morgan, J. and Waldock, A. 2000. Scanning laser polarimetry of the normal human retinal nerve fiber layer: a quantitative analysis. American Journal of Ophthalmology 129(1), pp. 76-82. (10.1016/S0002-9394(99)00267-6)

1999

Morgan, J. E. 1999. Using lasers to image the retina. Interview by Judy Jones. British Medical Journal (BMJ) 319(7220), pp. 1303. (10.1136/bmj.319.7220.1303)
Morgan, J. E. and Waldock, A. 1999. Scanning laser polarimetry of the normal retinal nerve fiber layer: A quantitative analysis. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 40(4), pp. S397-S397.
Sheen, N. J. L., Aldridge, C., Drasdo, N., North, R. V. and Morgan, J. E. 1999. The effect of astigmatism upon the optic nerve head images using a HRT scanning laser ophthalmoscope. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 40(4), pp. S839-S839.

1998

Morgan, J. E., Jeffery, G. and Foss, A. J. 1998. Axon deviation in the human lamina cribrosa. British Journal of Ophthalmology 82(6), pp. 680-683. (10.1136/bjo.82.6.680)
Morgan, J. E., Waldock, A., Jeffery, G. and Cowey, A. 1998. Retinal nerve fibre layer polarimetry: histological and clinical comparison. British Journal of Ophthalmology 82(6), pp. 684-690. (10.1136/bjo.82.6.684)

1997

Boulton, J. E., Waldock, A., Morgan, J. E. and Potts, M. J. 1997. Comparing nerve fibre layer defects identified by Scanning Laser Polarimetry, and red-free photography in patients with optic disc drusen.. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 38(4), pp. 3909-3909.
Morgan, J. E., Uchida, H., Hoffman, D., Grober, B. and Capriolo, J. 1997. Derivation of a scleral, reference plane with a confocal scanning laser tomograph. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 38(4), pp. 4270-4270.

1996

Morgan, J. E., Eillingham, R. B., Young, R. D. and Trmal, G. J. 1996. The mechanical properties of the human lens capsule following capsulorhexis or radiofrequency diathermy capsulotomy. Archives of Ophthalmology 114(9), pp. 1110-1115. (10.1001/archopht.1996.01100140312010)
Morgan, J. E., Uchida, H. and Capriolo, J. 1996. The pattern of retinal ganglion cell death in the monkey glaucoma model. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 37(3), pp. 3752-3752.

1995

Morgan, J. E. 1995. Selective Cell Death in Glaucoma - Reply. British Journal of Ophthalmology 79(7), pp. 710-711.
Morgan, J., Wadlock, A., Misson, G. and Thompson, I. D. 1995. Histological and polarimetric analysis of the monkey retinal nerve-fibre layer. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 36(4), pp. S972-S972.
Morgan, J. E. and Chandna, A. 1995. Intraocular pressure after peribulbar anaesthesia: is the Honan balloon necessary?. British Journal of Ophthalmology 79(1), pp. 46-49.
Diamond, J. P., Morgan, J. E., Virjee, J. and Easty, D. L. 1995. Cannalicular occlusion with cyanoacrylate adhesive: a new treatment for the dry eye. Eye 9(1), pp. 126-129.

1994

Morgan, J. E. 1994. Selective cell death in glaucoma: does it really occur?. British Journal of Ophthalmology 78(11), pp. 875-879.

1993

Thompson, I. D. and Morgan, J. E. 1993. The development of retinal ganglion cell decussation patterns in postnatal pigmented and albino ferrets. European Journal of Neuroscience 5(4), pp. 341-356. (10.1111/j.1460-9568.1993.tb00502.x)
Thompson, I. D., Morgan, J. E. and Henderson, Z. 1993. The effects of monocular enucleation on ganglion cell number and terminal distribution in the ferret's retinal pathway. European Journal of Neuroscience 5(4), pp. 357-367. (10.1111/j.1460-9568.1993.tb00503.x)
Morgan, J. E. 1993. Reviews. Perception 22(5), pp. 629-630. (10.1068/p220629)

1991

Morgan, J. E., Thompson, I., Jeffery, G. and Baker, G. 1991. Albino gene dosage and retinal decussation patterns in the pigmented ferret. Visual Neuroscience 6(4), pp. 393-398.

1987

Morgan, J. E., Henderson, Z. and Thompson, I. 1987. Retinal decussation patterns in pigmented and albino ferrets. Neuroscience 20(2), pp. 519-535. (10.1016/0306-4522(87)90108-4)
Price, D. and Morgan, J. E. 1987. Spatial properties of neurones in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the pigmented ferret. Experimental Brain Research 68(1), pp. 28-36. (10.1007/BF00255231)

1985

Morgan, J. E. and Thompson, I. 1985. The distribution of ipsilaterally projecting retinal ganglion-cells in neonatal pigmented and albino ferrets. The Journal of Physiology 369(DEC), pp. 35-35.
Eldridge, J., Morgan, J. E. and Thomson, I. 1985. A versatile mammalian stereotaxic headholder for visual neurophysiology. The Journal of Physiology 358(JAN), pp. 2-2.

0

Caprioli, J., Kitano, S. and Morgan, J. E. . Hyperthermia and hypoxia increase tolerance of retinal ganglion cells to anoxia and excitotoxicity.. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 37(12), pp. 2376-2381.

Mechanisms of retinal ganglion cell death in glaucoma

My research has focussed on understanding the early changes that characterise retinal ganglion cell degeneration in retinal disease. I have concentrated on glaucoma in which retinal ganglion cells are selectively damaged resulting in loss of visual sensitivity. The changes are manifest by atrophy and pruning of the retinal ganglion cell dendritic trees with preservation of the cell some and retinal ganglion cell axon. These cells are a potential source for the recovery of vision in glaucoma since they maintain central connections to the brain at the time of degeneration.

We use a range of experimental models of glaucoma in which the pressure is elevated for several weeks, resulting in the selective loss of retinal ganglion cells. We then use particulate gene and Dye delivery (Gene Gun) to determine changes in retinal connectivity.

In glaucoma, dendrites are pruned resulting in a left shift in the Scholl Distribution. Since the sensitivity of a retinal ganglion cell is critically dependent on dendritic structure this provides important information on one of the ways in which vision is lost in glaucoma. We have observed this as a general feature of retinal degeneration, with similar changes seen in optic neuropathy as a result of mitochondrial mutation (OPA1). We have used these models to try and understand the important of mitochondrial energy production in the maintenance of dendritic structure. Recently we have shown that dendritic atrophy is a feature of experimental Alzehimer's, raising the possibility that its detection could be used to detect Alzheimer's degeneration at an early stage.

In the context of retinal disorders neuronal degeneration, in the absence of cell loss is important since it raises the prospect that this damage can be reversed – possibly resulting in the recovery of lost vision. We are currently exploring methods to make this possible.

Imaging

We have developed high resolution imaging techniques to quantify neuronal health. From the outset we have tried to do this without the use of neuronal labels such as fluorescent probes since this would limit the use of this approach in the clinical domain. Using high resolution OCT we have recently shown that it is possible to detect the optical correlates of early neuronal degeneration raising the prospect that this can be used to detect early retinal damage. Using retinal explants as a model of neuronal degeneration we were able to show that the sub cellular scattering characteristics of degeneration neurons changed rapidly following optic nerve transections.

Our findings are not dependent on the imaging of sub cellular structures- rather that we can detect the optical scattering which is generated by these structures. We know that the cell undergo considerable degeneration during this time frame, providing compelling evidence that this could be used to provide a quantitative index of neuronal health. We are currently exploring the possibility that high resolution OCT can be used for the detection of neuronal activity.

Clinical

OpenEyes

The translational of laboratory-based research can be challenging and the paucity of robust informatic support in the NHS can be a significant barrier. To overcome this I have encouraged the uptake of electronic patient management systems for eye care, with a focus on the OpenEyes EMR. I am currently the CCIO for the OpenEyes development (based at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London) and a member of the Informatics Committee at the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. Our goal is to provide the best electronic patient record for eye care.

We were successful in procuring the support of Welsh Government for OpenEyes to connect primary and secondary care throughout Wales. For the first time patients with eye disease can be managed using a common informatic system to provide seamless care- whether in the primary and secondary sector.

Innovation

As part of our goal to develop innovative solutions in Health care we organised the first NHS Hack day in Wales in 2014. This brought together clinicians, software developers, scientists and engineers to collaborate over a weekend and pilot solutions to discrete clinical problems. Several projects sparked collaborations with potential for translation into clinical care.

Collaborators

Dr Anne Cunningham School of Medicine, Cardiff
Dr Sian Armstrong School of Engineering, Cardiff.

Funding

Albon J, North RV, Morgan JE. £52,688, The use of 1050nm OCT to identify changes of optic nerve head pathophysiology in glaucoma, College of Optometrists, 2011-2014.

Albon J, North RV, Drexler W, Morgan JE,£15,000, Optic nerve head changes in the progression of glaucomatous optic neuropathy using 1mm OCT, Hirsch and Fight for Sight Award, 2010-11.

Morgan JE, Tudor D, Albon J, £49,918, Perineuronal net (PNN) digestion as a therapy for the restoration of retinal ganglion cell structure in glaucoma. National Eye Research Centre, 2010-11.

Morgan JE, Albon J, £49,911, Characterisation of the perineuronal net (PNN) in the glaucomatous human retina: the identification of targets for PNN digestion as a potential therapy for the restoration of retinal ganglion cell structure in glaucoma, International Glaucoma Association, 2010-11.

Wride MA, Morgan JE, Albon J, £49,918, The role of inhibitors of apoptosis (IAPs) and caspases in retinal ganglion cell death and dendrite remodelling. National Eye Research Centre, 2007-10.

Research Team

Dr Siene Ng (WCAT fellow)
Kate Binley Graduate student
James Tribble Graduate student
Asta Vasalauskaite Graduate Student
Dr Gek Ong (Research Manager)

Research Collaborators

(non UK)

Professor John Morrison, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland Oregon, USA
Professor Wolfgang Drexler, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University Vienna.
Professor Mike Fautsch, Department of Ophthalmology, Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Rochester, USA.
Professor Simon John Jackson Laboratories, Bar Harbor Maine, USA
Dr Gareth Howell Jackson Laboratories, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA

(UK)

Dr Richard Foxton, Institute of Ophthalmology, UCL
Dr Lindsay Nicholson, School of Medicine (Ophthalmology) University of Bristol
Dr Alin Achim, Faculty of Engineering, University of Bristol

School of Medicine, Cardiff University
MOSS (medical specialties) Ophthalmology, Cardiff University

School of Optometry
Year 3 Abnormal Ocular Conditions
Medical Student and postgraduate teaching at University Hospital of Wales

Fellowship in Glaucoma
I run a fellowship in Glaucoma which is usually advertised September October in the year before it is taken up. The post is for one year; details can be obtained from my NHS secretary (029 20743222)

Honours and awards

Senior Whitby Scholarship (Downing College, Cambridge 1982)
College Prize in Medicine (Downing College, Cambridge 1982)
Medical Research Council Scholarship 1982-1985
Medical Research Council Travelling Fellow 1994-1995
IGA Research Award 1995

Professional memberships

Chair Expert Working Group Shared Care in Glaucoma (Welsh Assembly) 2006-2008
Chair UK and Eire Glaucoma Society 2007
RCO Informatics Committee
CCIO Open Eyes Moorfields Eye Hospital
National Eye Research Centre (Bristol) Grants Committee
Fight for Sight Grants Committee
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
European Glaucoma Society