David Calkins Archive — Page 1 of 2

Abstract circular pattern of multicolored, fiber-like lines radiating from a dark center against a black background.
September 22, 2025

NIH grant renewal signals bright outlook for Vanderbilt vision research

The Vanderbilt Vision Research Center was founded in 1989 and secured the National Eye Institute core grant that still supports it; the grant will provide approximately $3.3 million over the current five-year funding period.

Fluorescence microscopy image showing an orange astrocyte with branching processes extending among blue-tinted blood vessels and surrounding retinal tissue.
June 5, 2024

A novel astrocyte cell in the retina: study

A full understanding of retinal cell types and their functions could point to novel therapeutic targets for diseases that affect the visual system, such as glaucoma — a leading cause of blindness for people over age 60.

David Calkins, PhD, smiling with his arms crossed and wearing a gray sweater indoors.
September 8, 2022

Calkins lands national award for research on blinding eye diseases

Vanderbilt’s David Calkins, PhD, has been selected by the Research to Prevent Blindness and Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology to receive the 2023 David F. Weeks Award for Outstanding Vision Research.

Smiling man in a gray suit and burgundy tie standing in an office; a framed photograph is visible on a nearby shelf.
July 20, 2020

Study points to potential new approach to treating neurodegenerative diseases like glaucoma and Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have shown for the first time that when one optic nerve in the eye is damaged, as in glaucoma, the opposite optic nerve comes to the rescue by sharing its metabolic energy.

Portrait of a smiling man in a white lab coat standing in a laboratory or clinical setting, with scientific equipment and a colorful illuminated display behind him.
June 28, 2018

Calkins lands innovation award from Research to Prevent Blindness

Jun. 28, 2018—David Calkins, PhD, vice chair and director of Research at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute, has been granted one of the preeminent awards in vision research — the Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) Stein Innovation Award.

eye
February 22, 2018

Glaucoma study finds brain fights to preserve vision

A team of researchers, led by David Calkins, PhD, vice chair and director of Research at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute, has made a breakthrough discovery in the field of glaucoma showing new hopes for treatments to preserve vision.