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Professor Ian Morgan

Visual Sciences Group
Research School of Biology
GPO Box 475
Canberra ACT 2601
ph: +61 (02) 6125 4671

mobile: 0417 450 746
fax: +61 (02) 6125 3808

email: ian.morgan@anu.edu.au

 

Information for prospective students

Current position

Professor, Visual Science Group, RSBS


Research interests

Our current major interest is in the epidemic of myopia that has emerged in some parts of the world, particularly in East Asia . In epidemiological studies we are attempting to identify potentially modifiable life-style factors that contribute to the development of myopia (education and outdoor activities), while in parallel laboratory experimentation we analyse the optical and cellular/molecular pathways that control eye growth. Our aim is to develop treatments which will prevent the development of myopia.

Epidemiological studies are carried out in collaboration with Professor P au l Mitchell and Dr Kathryn Rose ( University of Sydney ) and Professor Wayne Smith ( University of Newcastle ) with funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council. Our recent results have shown that the prevalence of myopia is much lower in Australian children than in other parts of the world. This is true even when matching for ethnicity – for example only 3-4% of 7 year-old children of East Asian origin in Sydney are myopic, whereas in similar children in Singapore , the prevalence is over 30%. This points to a major impact of environment factors, and in particular of educational pressures. In both Sydney and Singapore, the ethnic groups that achieve the highest educational outcomes are the most myopic.

Laboratory experimentation receives support from ACT Health and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Vision based at the ANU. We are currently investigating the potential of imposed myopic defocus to control the development of myopia in both experimental animals and children.

 

 

 

University of Sydney/Australian National University
Mobile Phone and Vision and Hearing Project

For further details contact (http://www.fhs.usyd.edu.au/avs/) or
Dr Kathryn Rose
School of Applied Vision Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
K.Rose@cchs.usyd.edu.au


Selected Publications

Intraocular colchicine selectively destroys immature ganglion cells in chicken retina, I.G. Morgan, Neuroscience Letters 24 (1981) 255-260.

 

Dose dependent effects of intravitreal kainic acid on specific cell types in chicken retina, C.A. Ingham and I.G. Morgan, Neuroscience 9 (1983) 165-181.

 

The concentration of enkephalin-like material in the chick retina is light dependent, T.J. Millar, N. Salipan , J.O. Oliver, I.G. Morgan and I.W. Chubb, Neuroscience 13 (1984) 221-226.

 

Selective destruction of retinal cholinergic neurons by ethylcholine mustard aziridinium ion, T.J. Millar, I. Ishimoto, M. Boelen, M.L. Epstein, C.J. Johnson and I.G. Morgan, J. Neuroscience 7 (1987) 343-356.

 

Cholinergic amacrine cells of the chicken retina: a light and electron microscope immunocytochemical study, T.J. Millar, I. Ishimoto, I.W. Chubb, M.L. Epstein, C.D. Johnson and I.G. Morgan, Neuroscience 21 (1987) 725-743.

 

Cholinergic amacrine cells in the rabbit retina synapse onto other cholinergic amacrine cells, T.J. Millar and I.G. Morgan, Neuroscience Letters, 74 (1987) 281-285.

 

Colamination of cholinergic amacrine cell and displaced ganglion cell dendrites in the chicken retina, G.Yang, T.J.Millar and I.G.Morgan, Neuroscience Letters, 103 (1989) 151-156.

 

[Leu5]enkephalin-like immunoreactive amacrine cells in chicken retina are under nicotinic excitatory control in the dark, M.K. Boelen, M. Dowton and I.G. Morgan, Brain Research, 624 (1993) 137-142

 

Is nitric oxide a transmitter of the centrifugal projection to the avian retina?, I.G. Morgan, P. Miethke and Z.K. Li, Neuroscience Letters 168 (1994) 5-7

 

Endogenous dopamine inhibits the release of enkephalin-like immunoreactivity from amacrine cells of the chicken retina in the light, M.K. Boelen, J. Wellard, M. Dowton and I.G. Morgan, Brain Research 645 (1994) 240-246

 

A role for the enkephalin-immunoreactive amacrine cells of the chicken retina in adaptation to light and dark, M.K. Boelen, J. Wellard and I.G. Morgan, Neuroscience Letters 174 (1994) 64-66

 

Parallel suppression of retinal and pineal melatonin synthesis by retinally mediated light, I.G. Morgan, M.K. Boelen and I.G. Morgan, NeuroReport 6 (1995) 1530-1532

 

Neural barriers affect the action of nitric oxide synthase inhibitors in the intact chicken retina, J. Wellard, P. Miethke and I.G. Morgan, Neuroscience Letters 201 (1995) 17-20

 

A dark-light switch in the vertebrate retina: a review of the evidence, I.G. Morgan and M.K. Boelen, Visual Neuroscience, 13 (1996) 399-409

 

Cholinergic amacrine cells are not required for the progression and atropine-mediated suppression of form-deprivation myopia, A.J. Fischer, P. Miethke, I.G. Morgan and W.K. Stell, Brain Research, 794 (1998) 48-60

 

Colchicine c au ses excessive ocular growth and myopia in chicks, A.J. Fischer, I.G. Morgan and W.K. Stell, Vision Research , 39 (1999) 685-697

 

Vitreal dihydroxphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) as an index of retinal dopamine release, P. Megaw, I.G. Morgan and M.K. Boelen, Journal of Neurochemistry, 76 (2001) 1636-1644

 

The biological basis of myopic refractive error, I.G. Morgan, Clinical and Experimental Optometry, 86 (2003) 276-288

 

Using natural STOP growth signals to prevent excessive axial elongation and the development of myopia, I.G. Morgan and P. Megaw, Annals of the Singapore Academy of Medicine, 33 (2004) 16-20

 

Screening for differential gene expression during the development of form-deprivation myopia in the chicken, I.G. Morgan, R. Kucharski, N. Krongkaew, S.I. Firth, P. Megaw and R. Maleszka, Optometry and Vision Science, 81 (2004) 148-155

 

Response to Park and Congdon on the epidemiology of myopia, I.G. Morgan, K.A. Rose, W. Smith and P. Mitchell, Annals, Academy of Medicine, Singapore, 33 (2004) 541-543

 

How genetic is school myopia?, I.G. Morgan and K.A. Rose, Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, 24 (2005) 1-38

 

Methods for a population-based study of myopia and other eye conditions in school-children: The Sydney Myopia Study, E. Ojaimi, K.A. Rose, W. Smith. I.G. Morgan. F.J. Martin and P. Mitchell, Ophthalmic Epidemiology, 12 (2005) 59-69

 

Distribution of ocular biometric parameters and refraction in a population-based study of Australian children, E. Ojaimi, K.A. Rose, I.G. Morgan, W. Smith, F.J. Martin, A. Kifley, D. Robaei and P. Mitchell, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 46 (2005) 2748-2754

 

The relation of refraction and ocular biometry with anthropometric parameters in a 6 year-old population with low refractive error, E. Ojaimi, I.G. Morgan, D. Robaei, K.A. Rose, E. Rochtchina and P. Mitchell, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, in press

 

Astigmatism and its components in 6-year-old children, S.C Huynh, A. Kifley, K.Rose, I.G. Morgan, G.Z. Heller and P. Mitchell, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, in press

Diurnal patterns of dopamine release in chicken retina, P.M. Megaw, M.G. Boelen, I.G. Morgan and M.K. Boelen, Neurochemistry International, E-pub September 2005

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