Myopia Research Lab

The myopia research laboratory was established at the L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad in the year 2017. Research at the myopia lab involves both basic and applied aspects of myopia mainly investigating epidemiology, pathogenesis/causation of myopia/pathologic myopia to eventually develop a cost-effective anti-myopia strategy that can be used worldwide for myopia control. The multifactorial influence on myopia causation, the complex gene-environment interactions makes it difficult to draw concrete conclusions in myopia research through cross-sectional studies. The research in this lab focuses on investigating the temporal development of signs (both in the centre and periphery of the eye) to identify novel optical and imaging markers for myopia/high myopia/pathologic myopia via longitudinal and short-term defocus studies.

To volunteer in myopia research, please feel free to write to: myopiaresearch@lvpei.org, Phone: +91 8121010419

Dr Pavan Kumar Verkicharla

Scientist - Myopia Research Lab
Prof. Brien Holden Eye Research Centre
Head & Consultant Optometrist - The Myopia Centre
DST INSPIRE Faculty - INSA, India
L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad

Santoshi Kumari Maddali

Swapnil Thakur

Sruthi Chamarty

Swati Panigrahi

Megha Antony

Bhavani Vijayaraj

Maanila Pajanivelou

Past lab members

• Rohit Dhakal
• Shashank Bhandary
• Vishwa Sanghavi
• Jacinth J Priscilla
• Manoj Manoharan
• Satish Gupta
• Rakesh Maldoddi

Scientific Publications

• Recent Publications from Myopia Research Lab

1. Manoharan MK, Atchison DA, Verkicharla PK. Do anisometropic eyes have steeper retinas than their isometropic counterparts? Optom Vis Sci. 2022- 10.1097/ 8.
2. Thakur S, Verkicharla PK. Authors response: Greater axial elongation associated with low accommodative lag. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2023:43(2):285-286.
3. Lawrenson JG, Shah R, Huntjens B, Downie LE, Virgili G, Dhakal R, Verkicharla PK, Li D, Mavi S, Kernohan A, Li T, Walline JJ. Interventions for myopia control in children: a living systematic review and network meta-analysis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023;2(2):CD014758.
4. Dhakal R, Huntjens B, Shah R, Lawrenson JG, Verkicharla PK. Influence of location, season and time of day on the spectral composition of ambient light: Investigation for application in myopia. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2023;43(2):220-230.
5. Maldoddi R, Thakur S, Verkicharla PK. Near work, light levels and dioptric profile - Which factor dominates and influences the short-term changes in axial length? Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2023.
6. SK Gupta, R Chakraborty, PK Verkicharla. Association between relative peripheral refraction and corresponding electro‐retinal signals. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2023.
7. Bullimore MA, Lee SS, Schmid KL, Rozema JJ, Leveziel N, Mallen EAH, Jacobsen N, Iribarren R, Verkicharla PK, Polling JR, Chamberlain P. IMI-Onset and Progression of Myopia in Young Adults. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2023.
8. Verkicharla PK, Thakur S, Kekunnaya R, Dhakal R, Manoharan MK, Gupta SK, Chamarty S, Maldoddi R, Warkad V, Chel S, Natarajan D, Kulkarni S, Chattannavar G. The "IMPACT" myopia management guidelines. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2023. 71(7):2882-2884.
9. Flitcroft I, Ainsworth J, Chia A, Cotter S, Harb E, Jin ZB, Klaver CCW, Moore AT, Nischal KK, Ohno-Matsui K, Paysse EA, Repka MX, Smirnova IY, Snead M, Verhoeven VJM, Verkicharla PK. IMI-Management and Investigation of High Myopia in Infants and Young Children. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2023. 64(6):3.
10. Chamarty S, Gupta SK, Dhakal R, Verkicharla PK. Is There Any Association between Nutrition and Myopia? A Systematic Review. Optom Vis Sci. 2023.100(7):475-485.
11. Thakur S, Verkicharla PK. Authors response: Greater axial elongation associated with low accommodative lag. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2023. 43(2):285-286.
12. Dhakal R, Rudrapankte JR, Chittajallu HSNS, Lawrenson JG, Huntjens B, Shah R, Verkicharla PK. Development and validation of a 'MyLyt' wearable light tracking device. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2023.43(1):132-140.
13. Manoharan MK, Thakur S, Dhakal R, Gupta SK, Priscilla JJ, Bhandary SK, Srivastava A, Marmamula S, Poigal N, Verkicharla PK. Myopia progression risk assessment score (MPRAS): a promising new tool for risk stratification. Sci Rep. 2023. 13(1):8858.
14. Gupta SK, Dhakal R, Verkicharla PK. Biometry-Based Technique for Determining the Anterior Scleral Thickness: Validation Using Optical Coherence Tomography Landmarks. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2024.13(1):25.
15. Thakur S, Maldoddi R, Vangipuram M, Kalivemula M, Ch SNSH, Karthikesh A, Verkicharla PK. Peripheral Refraction Using Ancillary Retinoscope Component (P-ARC). Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2024 2;13(4):7.
16. Manoharan MK, Verkicharla PK. Randomised clinical trial of extended depth of focus lenses for controlling myopia progression: Outcomes from SEED LVPEI Indian Myopia Study. Br J Ophthalmol. 2024 11:2023-323651.
17. Chamarty S, Kamalon S, Madishetti N, Verkicharla PK. Link between parental myopia and early-onset high myopia: Insights from a clinical retrospective analysis. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2024 May 27.