Tonia Rex

Research assistant Sariah D’Empaire Salomon (front) positions a BIHF, ensuring that all sensors and the helmet are appropriately positioned, while engineer Janette Meyer, PhD, double-checks the sensors and their connections. (photo by Harrison McClary/Vanderbilt University)
February 13, 2025

Researchers simulate battlefield blast exposures to reduce impact on soldiers

The military was interested in finding ways to reduce impact on the brain by developing strategies that could be employed during training exercises.

By Craig Boerner
January 6, 2025

VUMC study shows identifying changes in vision may be sufficient to diagnose mild TBI

In both military and civilian populations, when TBI patients are asked to fill out a symptom inventory, about 80% of them will self-report difficulty reading or other vision problems.

By Nancy Humphrey
April 19, 2024

A ‘Site’ for Sore Eyes

Four years ago, Roger Lasater went outside to look at the stars and the moon and couldn’t see them. He was was in the beginning stages of age-related macular degeneration, one of the many eye diseases studied by physician-scientists at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute.

By Nancy Humphrey
September 9, 2021

Gift creates directorship in translational vision research

Marlene and Spencer Hays’ longtime support of the Vanderbilt Eye Institute includes the recent commitment to establish the Marlene & Spencer Hays Directorship in Translational Vision Research.

By Nancy Humphrey
November 29, 2018

NEI grants help bolster glaucoma research efforts

Two Vanderbilt Eye Institute (VEI) researchers were recently awarded National Eye Institute (NEI) Audacious Goals Initiative (AGI) for Regenerative Medicine grants for $6.8 million over five years to develop new treatments for optic neuropathies and glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness.

By Jessica Pasley
images from a brain scan
October 26, 2017

Study seeks new ways to detect sensory issues in TBI patients

Vanderbilt researcher Tonia Rex, Ph.D., is accustomed to performing studies in her lab with a goal of translating the findings into better diagnoses and treatment tools for the visually impaired.

By Jessica Pasley
February 4, 2016

Grant spurs research into trauma-induced vision loss

Tonia Rex, Ph.D., and colleagues at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute are working to uncover how best to treat ocular trauma, the fourth leading cause of blindness worldwide.
By Jessica Pasley
August 19, 2014

Keeping an eye on blast trauma

Understanding the cellular and molecular responses of the eye to blast injury could guide new treatment development.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 14, 2013

NIH lauds Rex’s ideas for future of vision research

Tonia Rex, Ph.D., assistant professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute, was recently named one of 10 winners of the National Institutes of Health competition for ideas on the future of vision research.
By Jessica Pasley