CONTACT INFORMATIONCREDENTIALSPATENTSPUBLICATIONSKye-Im Jeon, Ph.D.Contact InformationLocationsUniversity of Rochester Medical CenterSchool of Medicine and Dentistry601 Elmwood Ave, Box 659Rochester, NY 14642Faculty AppointmentsResearch Assistant Professor - Department of Ophthalmology (SMD) BiographyResearchDr. Jeon has a long-standing interest in contractile cells. Earlier in her career, she investigated the differentiation and proliferation of smooth muscle cells, such as those that occur during pathological vascular remodeling in atherosclerosis and restenosis. During the last few years, Dr. Jeon has turned her attention to corneal wound healing and, in particular, the differentiation from fibroblasts to myofibroblasts. At first, this work focused on ways of pharmacologically controlling this process, especially using PPARs ligands. These ligands are already clinically used for the treatment of diabetes and are known to regulate many important cellular functions, including metabolism, adipogenesis, proliferation and differentiation in a variety of body tissues. Relevant to the cornea, we found PPARs ligands capable of inhibiting myofibroblast differentiation in vivo and in vitro, identifying them as a potentially exciting, new class of topical ocular therapeutics. While pursuing this project, Dr. Jeon's team also discovered that myofibroblast transformation – such as occurs in large corneal wounds - directly inhibits nerve regeneration in vivo and in vitro. Her current efforts are focused on understanding the interaction between myofibroblasts and neurons. Controlling corneal re-innervation after wounding has important implications for blinding conditions such as neurotrophic keratitis, where persistent corneal wounds occur.CredentialsEducation1995MS | Korea-Yonsei UniversityBiochemistry2001PhD | Korea-Catholic Med Coll, SeoulBiochemistryPatentsPatent Title: Method and Compositions for Treatment or Prevention of Inflammatory Conditions Patent #: 1602247 Issue Date: Mar 11, 2015 Country: China, People's Republic of Invented By: Bradford C Berk, Kye-Im Jeon, Jian-Dong Li, Xiangbin Xu, Chen YanPatent Title: Method and Compositions For Treatment or Prevention of Inflammatory Conditions Patent #: 9,682,070 Issue Date: Jun 20, 2017 Country: United States Invented By: Bradford C Berk, Kye-Im Jeon, Jian-Dong Li, Xiangbin Xu, Chen YanPatent Title: Method and Compositions For Treatment or Prevention of Inflammatory Conditions Patent #: 9,241,932 Issue Date: Jan 26, 2016 Country: United States Invented By: Bradford C Berk, Kye-Im Jeon, Jian-Dong Li, Xiangbin Xu, Chen YanVIEW ALL expand_morePublicationsJournal Articles4/1/2022Jeon KI, Kumar A, Wozniak KT, Nehrke K, Huxlin KR. "Defining the Role of Mitochondrial Fission in Corneal Myofibroblast Differentiation." Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.. 2022 Apr 1; 63(4):2. 2020Jeon KI, Huxlin KR. "How scars shape the neural landscape: Key molecular mediators of TGF-?1's anti-neuritogenic effects." PloS one.. 2020 15(11):e0234950. Epub 2020 Nov 24. 10/24/2019Jeon KI, Nehrke K, Huxlin KR. "Semaphorin 3A potentiates the profibrotic effects of transforming growth factor-?1 in the cornea." Biochemical and biophysical research communications.. 2019 Oct 24; Epub 2019 Oct 24. VIEW ALL PUBLICATIONSClose WindowSchedule an appointment with Kye-Im Jeon, Ph.D.Please answer the following questions to help us find the right appointment for you.Important: If you believe that you have a medical or psychiatric emergency, please call 911 or go to the nearest hospital. This website is not intended for emergency care.Have you seen this provider in the last 2 years?YesNoExisting Patient Schedule or request a follow up appointment online through MyChart. If you do not have a MyChart account, please close this window and call the appointment phone number. Kye-Im Jeon, Ph.D. is currently scheduling for the following appointment type(s): Our policy does not permit patients to establish care with multiple providers within the same practice or specialty without prior approval. If you choose a new provider in the same office, we will cancel the appointment. Please contact the office directly with questions on this policy.