Fiona S. McDonnell

Fiona S. McDonnell, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences

Academic Office Information

fiona.mcdonnell@utah.edu

Dr. McDonnell's primary research area is the study of glaucoma, with a special focus in conventional outflow physiology. This interest in glaucoma began with her PhD work in Dublin, Ireland (her hometown), and continued with her postdoctoral training at Duke University. She joined the John A. Moran Eye Center as an Assistant Professor in 2022 starting her new research program as the Principal Investigator of the McDonnell Lab. As a glaucoma investigator, Dr. McDonnell and her lab will be part of the Alan S. Crandall Center for Glaucoma Innovation, and will be working closely with other researchers to improve our knowledge of glaucoma.

Her current work focuses on how extracellular vesicles contribute to the regulation of intraocular pressure. Dr. McDonnell is also an expert in a technique known as perfusion, which is used in the glaucoma research field to study the pressure in donor eyes.

Research Statement

My research is focused on how we can improve treatments for lowering intraocular pressure by understanding the mechanisms behind what causes it. Therefore I have focused my work on the conventional outflow pathway and the cells and tissues that are responsible for aqueous humor drainage.

I do this through gaining a better understanding of the physiology of how the different tissues involved in glaucoma become damaged, and the processes that should maintain them become dysregulated. My research uses elements of physiology, cell biology, biomedical engineering and pharmacology to elucidate what is occurring in the trabecular meshwork, Schlemm's canal and distal vessels of the conventional outflow pathway.

My current funded study examines how nanovesicles called exosomes regulate extracellular matrix materials in the trabecular meshwork, and how this is affected and interrupted in glaucoma.

Education History

Undergraduate University College Dublin
 BSc
Doctoral Training University College Dublin
 PhD
Postdoctoral Fellowship University College Dublin
 Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Postdoctoral Fellowship Duke University School of Medicine
 Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Greene AG, Eivers SB, McDonnell F, Dervan EWJ, O'Brien CJ, Wallace DM (2020). Differential Lysyl oxidase like 1 expression in pseudoexfoliation glaucoma is orchestrated via DNA methylation. Exp Eye Res, 201, 108349.
  2. McDonnell F, Dismuke WM, Overby DR, Stamer WD (2018). Pharmacological regulation of outflow resistance distal to Schlemm's canal. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, 315(1), C44-C51.
  3. Liu B, Kilpatrick JI, Lukasz B, Jarvis SP, McDonnell F, Wallace DM, Clark AF, O'Brien CJ (2018). Increased Substrate Stiffness Elicits a Myofibroblastic Phenotype in Human Lamina Cribrosa Cells. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 59(2), 803-814.
  4. McDonnell FS, McNally SA, Clark AF, O'Brien CJ, Wallace DM (2016). Increased Global DNA Methylation and Decreased TGFß1 Promoter Methylation in Glaucomatous Lamina Cribrosa Cells. J Glaucoma, 25(10), e834-e842.
  5. McDonnell F, Irnaten M, Clark AF, O'Brien CJ, Wallace DM (2016). Hypoxia-Induced Changes in DNA Methylation Alter RASAL1 and TGFß1 Expression in Human Trabecular Meshwork Cells. PLoS One, 11(4), e0153354.
  6. McDonnell F, Perkumas KM, Ashpole NE, Kalnitsky J, Sherwood JM, Overby DR, Stamer W (2020). Shear Stress in Schlemm's Canal as a Sensor of Intraocular Pressure. Scientific reports, 10(1), 5804.
  7. Acott TS, Fautsch MP, Mao W, Ethier CR, Huang AS, Kelley MJ, Aga M, Bhattacharya SK, Borras T, Bovenkamp D, Chowdhury UR, Clark AF, Dibas MI, Du Y, Elliott MH, Faralli JA, Gong H, Herberg S, Johnstone MA, Kaufman PL, Keller KE, Kelly RA, Krizaj D, Kuehn MH, Li HL, Lieberman R, Lin SC, Liu Y, McDonnell FS, McDowell CM, McLellan GJ, Mzyk P, Nair KS, Overby DR, Peters DM, Raghunathan V, Rao PV, Roddy GW, Sharif NA, Shim MS, Sun Y, Thomson BR, Toris CB, Willoughby CE, Zhang HF, Freddo TF, Fuchshofer R, Hill KR, Karimi A, Kizhatil K, Kopcyznski CC, Liton P, Patel G, Peng M, Pattabiraman PP, Prasanna G, Reina-Torres E, Samples EG, Samples JR, Steel CL, Strohmaier CA, Subramanian P, Sugali CK, van Batenburg-Sherwood J, Wong C, Youngblood H, Zode GS, White E, Stamer W (2024). Consensus Recommendations for Studies of Outflow Facility and Intraocular Pressure Regulation Using Ex Vivo Perfusion Approaches. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 65(14), 32.
  8. Strohmaier CA, Wanderer D, Zhang X, Agarwal D, Toomey CB, Wahlin K, Zhang HF, Stamer WD, Weinreb RN, McDonnell FS, Huang A (2023). Greater Outflow Facility Increase After Targeted Trabecular Bypass in Angiographically Determined Low-low Regions. Ophthalmology. Glaucoma, 6(6), 570-579.
  9. Kelly RA, McDonnell FS, De Ieso ML, Overby DR, Stamer W (2023). Pressure Clamping During Ocular Perfusions Drives Nitric Oxide-Mediated Washout. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 64(7), 36.
  10. Strohmaier CA, McDonnell FS, Zhang X, Wanderer D, Stamer WD, Weinreb RN, Huang A (2023). Differences in Outflow Facility Between Angiographically Identified High- Versus Low-Flow Regions of the Conventional Outflow Pathways in Porcine Eyes. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 64(3), 29.
  11. McDonnell FS, Riddick BJ, Roberts H, Skiba N, Stamer W (2023). Comparison of the extracellular vesicle proteome between glaucoma and non-glaucoma trabecular meshwork cells. Frontiers in ophthalmology, 3,
  12. Strohmaier CA, McDonnell F, Huang A (2025). Aqueous Humor Angiography. Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.), 2858, 159-172.

Review

  1. McDowell CM, Kizhatil K, Elliott MH, Overby DR, van Batenburg-Sherwood J, Millar JC, Kuehn MH, Zode G, Acott TS, Anderson MG, Bhattacharya SK, Bertrand JA, Borras T, Bovenkamp DE, Cheng L, Danias J, De Ieso ML, Du Y, Faralli JA, Fuchshofer R, Ganapathy PS, Gong H, Herberg S, Hernandez H, Humphries P, John SWM, Kaufman PL, Keller KE, Kelley MJ, Kelly RA, Krizaj D, Kumar A, Leonard BC, Lieberman RL, Liton P, Liu Y, Liu KC, Lopez NN, Mao W, Mavlyutov T, McDonnell F, McLellan GJ, Mzyk P, Nartey A, Pasquale LR, Patel GC, Pattabiraman PP, Peters DM, Raghunathan V, Rao PV, Rayana N, Raychaudhuri U, Reina-Torres E, Ren R, Rhee D, Chowdhury UR, Samples JR, Samples EG, Sharif N, Schuman JS, Sheffield VC, Stevenson CH, Soundararajan A, Subramanian P, Sugali CK, Sun Y, Toris CB, Torrejon KY, Vahabikashi A, Vranka JA, Wang T, Willoughby CE, Xin C, Yun H, Zhang HF, Fautsch MP, Tamm ER, Clark AF, Ethier CR, Stamer WD (2022). Consensus Recommendation for Mouse Models of Ocular Hypertension to Study Aqueous Humor Outflow and Its Mechanisms. [Review]. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 63, (2), 12.
  2. Keller KE, Bhattacharya SK, Borrás T, Brunner TM, Chansangpetch S, Clark AF, Dismuke WM, Du Y, Elliott MH, Ethier CR, Faralli JA, Freddo TF, Fuchshofer R, Giovingo M, Gong H, Gonzalez P, Huang A, Johnstone MA, Kaufman PL, Kelley MJ, Knepper PA, Kopczynski CC, Kuchtey JG, Kuchtey RW, Kuehn MH, Lieberman RL, Lin SC, Liton P, Liu Y, Lütjen-Drecoll E, Mao W, Masis-Solano M, McDonnell F, McDowell CM, Overby DR, Pattabiraman PP, Raghunathan VK, Rao PV, Rhee DJ, Chowdhury UR, Russell P, Samples JR, Schwartz D, Stubbs EB, Tamm ER, Tan JC, Toris CB, Torrejon KY, Vranka JA, Wirtz MK, Yorio T, Zhang J, Zode GS, Fautsch MP, Peters DM, Acott TS, Stamer WD (2018). Consensus recommendations for trabecular meshwork cell isolation, characterization and culture. [Review]. Exp Eye Res, 171, 164-173.
  3. McDonnell F, O'Brien C, Wallace D (2014). The role of epigenetics in the fibrotic processes associated with glaucoma. [Review]. J Ophthalmol, 2014, 750459.
  4. Namdari M, McDonnell F (2025). Extracellular vesicles as emerging players in glaucoma: Mechanisms, biomarkers, and therapeutic targets. Vision research, 226, 108522.
  5. Becker S, L'Ecuyer Z, Jones BW, Zouache MA, McDonnell FS, Vinberg (2024). Modeling complex age-related eye disease. Progress in retinal and eye research, 100, 101247.