Moussa A. Zouache

Moussa A. Zouache, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences

Dr. Zouache is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the University of Utah. His research involves designing and implementing multidisciplinary approaches to solve complex problems at the interface between clinical ophthalmology, molecular biology, data science and engineering disciplines. His primary research interest is directed towards understanding the etiology and natural history of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of irreversible vision loss worldwide. He is also interested in characterizing transport phenomena – or the exchange of mass, energy, charge and momentum between systems – in the eye in health and how they change in disease.

Dr. Zouache trained as an Engineer in his native France before pursuing advanced degrees in Biology and Health in the United Kingdom. He holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from University College London, UK, where he worked within the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Institute of Ophthalmology. He has taught many courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels and has given instructional courses designed to foster cross-disciplinary collaborations. As part of his research, Dr Zouache developed a theoretical framework to characterize the blood flow and passive transport in the choriocapillaris, the microvascular bed sustaining the outer part of the retina, which includes the photoreceptors. This framework dramatically improved our understanding of mass transfers across the blood-retinal barrier and their impact on retinal homeostasis.

Dr Zouache currently works on refining our understanding of the etiology and natural history of AMD and developing a mechanistic understanding of the processes driving pathologies associated with this disease. This research is designed to generate a robust understanding of the differential contribution of genetic, biological and environmental factors to AMD onset and course of progression. Dr Zouache's goal is to translate this improved understanding into effective therapeutic strategies and precision medicine for this complex blinding disease.

Education History

Graduate Training École Centrale de Lille
 MS
Graduate Training Cranfield University
 MSc
Doctoral Training University College London
 PhD
Postdoctoral Fellowship University College London
 Postdoctoral Fellow

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Williams BL, Seager NA, Gardiner JD, Pappas CM, Cronin MC, Amat di San Filippo C, Anstadt RA, Liu J, Toso MA, Nichols L, Parnell TJ, Eve JR, Bartel PL, Zouache MA, Richards BT, Hageman G (2021). Chromosome 10q26-driven age-related macular degeneration is associated with reduced levels of HTRA1 in human retinal pigment epithelium. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(30), (Read full article)
  2. Zouache MA, Eames I, Luthert P (2015). Blood flow in the choriocapillaris. Journal of fluid mechanics, 774, 37-66.
  3. Zouache MA, Eames I, Klettner CA, Luthert, P (2019). Flow and passive transport in planar multipolar flows. Journal of fluid mechanics, 858, 184-227.
  4. Pappas CM, Zouache MA, Matthews S, Faust CD, Hageman JL, Williams BL, Richards BT, Hageman G (2021). Protective chromosome 1q32 haplotypes mitigate risk for age-related macular degeneration associated with the CFH-CFHR5 and ARMS2/HTRA1 loci. Human genomics, 15(1), 60. (Read full article)
  5. Zouache MA, Eames I, Samsudin (2016). Allometry and Scaling of the Intraocular Pressure and Aqueous Humour Flow Rate in Vertebrate Eyes. PloS one, 11(3), e0151490. (Read full article)
  6. Zouache MA, Eames I, Klettner CA, Luthert P (2016). Form, shape and function: segmented blood flow in the choriocapillaris. Scientific reports, 6, 35754. (Read full article)
  7. Zouache MA, Bennion A, Hageman JL, Pappas C, Richards BT, Hageman G (2020). Macular retinal thickness differs markedly in age-related macular degeneration driven by risk polymorphisms on chromosomes 1 and 10. Scientific reports, 10(1), 21093. (Read full article)
  8. Zouache MA, Silvestri G, Amoaku WM, Silvestri V, Hubbard WC, Pappas C, Akafo S, Lartey S, Mastey RR, Carroll J, Hageman G (2020). Comparison of the Morphology of the Foveal Pit Between African and Caucasian Populations. Translational vision science & technology, 9(5), 24. (Read full article)
  9. Jacobsen BH, Shah AA, Aggarwal S, Mwanansao C, McFadden M, Zouache MA, Shakoor (2020). Prevalence of Retinal Diseases and Associated Risk Factors in an African Population From Mwanza, Tanzania. Ophthalmic surgery, lasers & imaging retina, 51(5), S17-S25. (Read full article)
  10. Schmitz-Valckenberg S, Fleckenstein M, Zouache MA, Pfau M, Pappas C, Hageman JL, Agrón E, Malley C, Keenan TDL, Chew EY, Hageman G (2022). Progression of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Among Individuals Homozygous for Risk Alleles on Chromosome 1 (CFH-CFHR5) or Chromosome 10 (ARMS2/HTRA1) or Both. JAMA ophthalmology, 140(3), 252-260. (Read full article)
  11. Amoaku WM, Sampalli A, Silvestri V, Cushley LN, Akafo S, Amissah-Arthur KN, Lartey S, Hageman CN, Hubbard WC, Pappas CM, Zouache MA, Stevenson M, Hageman GS, Silvestri G, Ghana AMD Study Group (2022). Characterization of West African Crystalline Macular Dystrophy in the Ghanaian Population. Ophthalmology. Retina, (Read full article)
  12. Zouache MA, Richards BT, Pappas CM, Anstadt RA, Liu J, Corsetti T, Matthews S, Seager NA, Schmitz-Valckenberg S, Fleckenstein M, Hubbard WC, Thomas J, Hageman JL, Williams BL, Hageman G (2024). Levels of complement factor H-related 4 protein do not influence susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration or its course of progression. Nature communications, 15(1), 443. (Read full article)
  13. Faust CD, Klettner CA, Toso M, Hageman GS, Eames I, Luthert PJ, Zouache M (2024). The vascular geometry of the choriocapillaris is associated with spatially heterogeneous molecular exchange with the outer retina. The Journal of physiology, (Read full article)
  14. Williams BL, Zouache MA, Seager NA, Pappas CM, Liu J, Anstadt RA, Hubbard WC, Thomas J, Hageman JL, Mohler J, Richards BT, Hageman G (2024). Levels of the HtrA1 Protein in Serum and Vitreous Humor Are Independent of Genetic Risk for Age-Related Macular Degeneration at the 10q26 Locus. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 65(4), 34. (Read full article)
  15. Zouache MA, Faust CD, Silvestri V, Akafo S, Lartey S, Mehta R, Carroll J, Silvestri G, Hageman GS, Amoaku W (2024). Retinal and Choroidal Thickness in an Indigenous Population from Ghana: Comparison with Individuals with European or African Ancestry. Ophthalmology science, 4(2), 100386. (Read full article)
  16. Stewart PS, Brook BS, Jensen OE, Spelman TA, Whittaker RJ, Zouache M (2024). Rapid Amplification of Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure as a Possible Mechanism for Optic Nerve Sheath Bleeding in Infants With Nonaccidental Head Injury. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 65(12), 9. (Read full article)
  17. Prins S, Kiel C, Foss AJE, Zouache MA, Luthert P (2024). "Energetics of the outer retina I: Estimates of nutrient exchange and ATP generation". PloS one, 19(12), e0312260. (Read full article)
  18. Arikan M, Willoughby J, Ongun S, Sallo F, Montesel A, Ahmed H, Hagag A, Book M, Faatz H, Cicinelli MV, Fawzi AA, Podkowinski D, Cilkova M, De Almeida DM, Zouache M, Ramsamy G, Lilaonitkul W, Dubis A (2025). OCT5k: A dataset of multi-disease and multi-graded annotations for retinal layers. Scientific data, 12(1), 267. (Read full article)

Review

  1. Zouache M (2022). Variability in Retinal Neuron Populations and Associated Variations in Mass Transport Systems of the Retina in Health and Aging. Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 14, 778404. (Read full article)
  2. 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. (Read full article)
  3. Miller JML, Thompson BR, Handa JT, Luthert P, Chakravarthy U, Csaky KG, Bird A, Young BK, Iyengar SK, Baek J, Zouache MA, Richards BT, Hageman GS, Rodrigues G, Bharti K, Flannery JG, Gorin MB, Bowes Rickman (2025). Dissecting the biological complexity of age-related macular degeneration: Is it one disease, multiple separate diseases, or a spectrum?. Experimental eye research, 254, 110304. (Read full article)

Editorial

  1. Schmitz-Valckenberg S, Zouache MA, Hageman GS, Fleckenstein (2022). From Genes, Proteins, and Clinical Manifestation: Why Do We Need to Better Understand Age-Related Macular Degeneration?. Ophthalmology science, 2(2), 100174. (Read full article)
  2. Baugh B,Tullis B,Asare AO,Zouache MA,Stagg B (2023). Ensuring that glaucoma clinical decision support meets the needs of providers and patients. Journal of medical artificial intelligence, 6, (Read full article)