School of Medicine Helped Launch Career of Internationally-Recognized Ophthalmologist
Leslie Capo, Director of Information Services
A Danish professor whose career as a clinician-scientist was shaped by her training at the LSU Health New Orleans Neuroscience Center of Excellence has just been named one of the Top 100 Women in Ophthalmology in the world. She is on the Ophthalmologist’s 2021 Power List. Miriam Kolko, MD, PhD, a professor at the University of Copenhagen, spent more than five years as a medical student, during her PhD program and as a postdoctoral fellow at LSU Health in the laboratory of Nicolas Bazan, MD, PhD, Professor and Director of LSU Health New Orleans Neuroscience Center.
“She was a dedicated, creative, and highly productive superstar from the beginning,”
recalls Dr. Bazan. “She came in here in her early 20’s as a Fulbright scholar (1994-1996)
and then as a PhD student from 2000-2002. I was a major professor when the University
of Copenhagen granted her a PhD in 2003.”
While at LSU Health, Dr. Bazan’s mentorship included involving Miriam Kolko in innovative
research studies as well as designing new research projects from conceptualization
to publication.
“From the outset, Miriam devoted long hours of dedicated reading and careful thinking
about the experimental design and ideas being tested,” adds Dr. Bazan.
She contributed to studies on neuroprotection, uncovering fundamental mechanisms of
neurotransmission, defining the significance of lipid mediators and describing first-time
novel neuroprotective signaling. Drs. Bazan and Kolko published a number of papers.
Though Dr. Kolko went on to specialize in glaucoma, she continued her passion for
science and has contributed to advancements in the fields of glaucoma and neuroprotection.
“We have continued fruitful collaborations ever since,” says Dr. Bazan. “She has visited
my labs often, and I have enjoyed visiting her and witnessing her progress in Denmark.”
Dr. Kolko is also President of the Danish Glaucoma Society; Head of Eye Translational
Research Unit (EyeTRU); Head of Personal Medicine Research Cluster at the Department
of Ophthalmology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet-Glostrup and Department
of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
“Her transformative thinking has led her to build innovative, experimental, and clinical
models to understand the pathophysiology of glaucoma and to contribute to improving
the current management of glaucoma,” notes Dr. Bazan. “She is an outstanding ophthalmologist,
has received many distinctions, and is truly an exemplary and inspirational leader
in ophthalmology. I cannot think of anyone else who fits this recognition better than
her.”