Point Pattern Analysis of Retinal Ganglion Cell loss in Glaucoma

A spatial point pattern refers to a set of points irregularly distributed within a region of space. The focus of investigation is the spatial arrangement of the events or objects. Glaucoma is one of the most common ophthalmic neurodegenerative diseases and is the leading cause of irreversible blindness globally. Glaucoma is associated with damage to the optic nerve and patterns of visual field loss which principally involves the loss of retinal ganglion cells. The purpose of this project will be to use methods from point pattern analysis to model the loss of retinal ganglion cells through time. Thus, leading to a better understanding of the cells most at risk of dying and the overall process. This in turn could be used to develop techniques to detect Glaucoma at an earlier stage before permanent damage is caused to the eye.  

Biography

I am currently a first year PhD student at Queen’s University Belfast. I graduated with an MSci in Mathematics and Statistics & Operational Research in 2020. My PhD is based in the field of spatial statistics. My interest in this area began in my final undergraduate year, as my dissertation looked at using techniques from spatial statistics to map the probability of a tornado occurrence in the USA.

Research interests

• Point Pattern Analysis
• Stochastic Processes