Research Faculty

David G. Hunter, MD, PhD

Department Ophthalmology
Hospital Title Ophthalmologist-in-Chief
Academic Title Professor of Ophthalmology
Phone 617-355-6401
Fax 617-249-0615
Email David Hunter
Location 300 Longwood Avenue
Fegan-4
Boston MA 02115

Research Overview

Dr. Hunter's clinical and research interests focus on strabismus and amblyopia. He is collaborating with the laboratory of Elizabeth Engle, MD to study the genetic contributions of common and complex strabismus (including the congenital cranial dysinnervation disorders (CCDDs) such as congenital fibrosis of the extraocular muscles (CFEOM) and Duane syndrome.) He is developing new approaches to strabismus surgery for complex cases, including adjustable sutures that can be adjusted several days after surgery, and superior rectus transposition (SRT) for Duane syndrome and sixth nerve palsy. For more than 18 years he has been developing laser technology to scan the eye and identify eye disease, including new approaches to identifying amblyopia in young children early in life using a non-invasive, rapid diagnostic scan. This has led to the invention of retinal birefringence scanning (RBS), a patented method that can detect the fixation of the eye from a distance, and the impending development of an RBS-based product known as the Pediatric Vision Scanner. Dr. Hunter is founder and owner of REBIScan, LLC, the company that will produce the PVS for use in pediatric offices and community vision screening programs.

About David Hunter

David G. Hunter, MD, PhD is Ophthalmologist-in-Chief and the Richard M. Robb Chair of Ophthalmology at Children's Hospital Boston, President of the Children's Hospital Ophthalmology Foundation, Professor and Vice Chair of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, and the 2010-11 Vice President of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and head of its finance committee. Dr. Hunter obtained a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Rice University and a PhD (in Cell Biology) and MD from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. After he completed an ophthalmology residency at Harvard's Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary, he was a fellow at the Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, Johns Hopkins University, where he remained on faculty until 2002, when he was selected as Ophthalmologist-in-Chief at Children's. During his time at Children's, the Department of Ophthalmology at Children's Hospital Boston has grown to become the largest pediatric ophthalmology department in the nation and perhaps the world, with 30 full-time faculty, including 13 full-time and 3 affiliated MD ophthalmologists and 4 pediatric optometrists, with pediatric subspecialists in nearly every aspect of ophthalmology, as well as 7 full-time research faculty. The department also has created 7 endowed chairs as well as an endowed international observership to support clinical and basic research, teaching, and the worldwide dissemination of advances in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus. Dr. Hunter is co-author of the book Last Minute Optics, which was recently released in its second edition, and his lectures on optics and refraction for ophthalmologists-in-training around the world are now available free of charge in podcast format.

Key Publications

  • Hunter DG, Patel SN, Guyton DL. Automated detection of foveal fixation by use of retinal birefringence scanning. Appl Opt. 1999 Mar 1;38(7):1273-9. PubMed PMID: 18305742.
     
  • Nassif DS, Piskun NV, Hunter DG. The Pediatric Vision Screener III: detection of strabismus in children. Arch Ophthalmol. 2006 Apr;124:509-13. PubMed PMID: 16606876. 
     
  • Nihalani BR, Whitman MC, Salgado CM, Loudon SE, Hunter DG. Short tag noose technique for optional and late suture adjustment in strabismus surgery. Arch Ophthalmol. 2009 Dec;127:1584-90. PubMed PMID: 20008711.
     
  • Moncaster JA, Pineda R, Moir RD, Lu S, Burton MA, Ghosh JG, Ericsson M, Soscia SJ, Mocofanescu A, Folkerth RD, Robb RM, Kuszak JR, Clark JI, Tanzi RE, Hunter DG, Goldstein LE. Alzheimer's disease amyloid-beta links lens and brain pathology in Down syndrome. PLoS One. 2010 May 20;5:e10659. PubMed PMID: 20502642; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2873949.
     
  • Tischfield MA, Baris HN, Wu C, Rudolph G, Van Maldergem L, He W, Chan WM, Andrews C, Demer JL, Robertson RL, Mackey DA, Ruddle JB, Bird TD, Gottlob I, Pieh C, Traboulsi EI, Pomeroy SL, Hunter DG, Soul JS, Newlin A, Sabol LJ, Doherty EJ, de Uzcátegui CE, de Uzcátegui N, Collins ML, Sener EC, Wabbels B, Hellebrand H, Meitinger T, de Berardinis T, Magli A, Schiavi C, Pastore-Trossello M, Koc F, Wong AM, Levin AV, Geraghty MT, Descartes M, Flaherty M, Jamieson RV, Møller HU, Meuthen I, Callen DF, Kerwin J, Lindsay S, Meindl A, Gupta ML Jr, Pellman D, Engle EC. Human TUBB3 mutations perturb microtubule dynamics, kinesin interactions, and axon guidance. Cell. 2010 Jan 8;140:74-87. PubMed PMID: 20074521. 
     
  • Tarpey P, Thomas S, Sarvananthan N, Mallya U, Lisgo S, Talbot CJ, Roberts EO, Awan M, Surendran M, McLean RJ, Reinecke RD, Langmann A, Lindner S, Koch M, Jain S, Woodruff G, Gale RP, Degg C, Droutsas K, Asproudis I, Zubcov AA, Pieh C, Veal CD, Machado RD, Backhouse OC, Baumber L, Constantinescu CS, Brodsky MC, Hunter DG, Hertle RW, Read RJ, Edkins S, O'Meara S, Parker A, Stevens C, Teague J, Wooster R, Futreal PA, Trembath RC, Stratton MR, Raymond FL, Gottlob I. Mutations in FRMD7, a newly identified member of the FERM family, cause X-linked idiopathic congenital nystagmus. Nat Genet. 2006 Nov; 38:1242-4. Epub 2006 Oct 1. PubMed PMID: 17013395; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2592600.