Zala Lužnik

Cornea transplantation is one of the most frequent tissue transplantations in the world which gives back the eyesight to many patients. However, despite the success of the transplantation, in some patients transplanted tissue degradation occurs. Immunological aspects which could cause the degradation of the transplant are very poorly researched. Zala Lužnik, MD, PhD, together with an excellent international team from Harvard and the Netherlands, was the first to notice that there are increased markers of natural immune response in the intraocular fluid. Her findings will contribute to discoveries of more efficient local anti-inflammatory therapies and consequently to better survival of endothelial corneal transplants.