Eric Pearlman, Ph.D.
Professor and Director of Research,
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences,
Case Western Reserve University,
Cleveland, Ohio

Eric Pearlman received his B.S. degree from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, both in Microbiology. He moved to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland for post-doctoral studies, where is currently Professor in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Pathology.

Dr. Pearlman’s past studies were on the parasites that cause onchocerciasis (river blindness); however, he is currently working on fungal and bacterial infections, which cause severe visual impairment and blindness. The common filamentous soil fungi Aspergillus fumigatus and Fusarium species are major causes of trauma related disease worldwide, and Fusarium was responsible for a recent outbreak of contact lens associated corneal infections in the USA. Fungal hyphae are extremely invasive, and penetrate the corneal stroma, invade the anterior chamber, and may even cause systemic disease. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is also a major cause of microbial keratitis worldwide.

Dr Pearlman’s laboratory focuses primarily on the role of pathogen recognition receptors in regulating disease. These include the Toll Like Receptor family, which plays a critical role in recognizing and responding to bacteria, and C-type lectins such as Dectin-1 that recognize fungal cell wall components.