Sharon Fridovich Freedman

My current research interests include:

Childhood glaucomas - With a large referral practice of children with pediatric glaucomas of all types, Freedman is evaluating existing and new management strategies for treating refractory congenital and childhood glaucomas, including the use of pharmacologic agents, as well as modification of surgical interventions. Freedman has an on-going collaboration with Duke colleagues to study the genetics of pediatric glaucoma. In addition to an active clinical research program, she regularly lectures and directs workshop at national meetings aimed at educating other ophthalmologists about current strategies and controversies in managing children with refractory glaucoma.

Retinopathy of Prematurity - Freedman was the principal investigator at the Duke-UNC Center for the NIH-sponsored, multi-center trial to evaluate early treatment for retinopathy of prematurity (ETROP). Together with colleague David Wallace, she provides eye care and treatment to the many premature children who graduate from the Neonatal Intensive Care units at DUHS. Freedman and Wallace are involved in clinical research involving the computerized evaluation of retinal blood vessels in ROP. Freedman and Wallace collaborate with Cynthia Toth and her Duke research team in applying the new imaging technique of Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography to image children with retinopathy of prematurity and other retinal disorders. Efforts are ongoing to investigate the role of the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drug, bevasizumab in treating severe ROP.

Strabismus associated with macular translocation surgery - Together with Cynthia Toth, Freedman continues to surgically treat the cyclotorsion and strabismus resulting from macular translocation surgery (now reserved for special cases of macular degeneration that are resistent to injection therapy. She has developed and published on new extraocular muscle surgical techniques to deal with this problem.