Dr. Milica Margeta is a clinician scientist and a full-time member of the Mass Eye and Ear Glaucoma Service, where she specializes in medical and surgical management of moderate and advanced glaucoma.

Dr. Margeta has published in top scientific journals and received numerous awards and honors for her academic accomplishments. Her graduate research provided significant insights into how neurons develop and form connections during brain development. During her residency training at Duke, she received the prestigious Robert Machemer Resident Research Award, as well as the Duke Ocular Innovation Award for creating a novel approach for adjusting glaucoma drainage device surgery in children with glaucoma.

Dr. Margeta’s current research is focused on developing novel neuroprotective strategies for glaucoma, a chronic blinding disease that damages the neurons that connect the eye to the brain. In particular, she is studying the role of retinal neuroinflammation during glaucomatous damage, with a special focus on microglia, the resident immune cells of the retina and the brain. Her work has shown that modulating microglial signaling in glaucoma protects neurons from damage despite elevated intraocular pressure, which may pave the way towards developing novel neuroprotective treatments for this common blinding disease.

Clinical Interests

Moderate, advanced and complex glaucoma