Dr. Morgan DiLeo is an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, Chemical Engineering, and Clinical & Translational Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh.  She is also the Director of the Ophthalmic Biomaterials Laboratory at Pitt and is affiliated with the Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration.

Dr. DiLeo received her BS in Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2006.  She continued her studies at the University of Pittsburgh, receiving a PhD in Bioengineering in 2011 under William Federspiel, PhD.  Her post-doctoral work was conducted in Pitt’s Chemical Engineering Department in the laboratory of Steven Little, PhD.

Dr. DiLeo’s research interests include drug delivery to the eye and the development of novel biomaterials for ophthalmic applications.  The Ophthalmic Biomaterials Lab focuses on the engineering of novel materials to address critical issues in ophthalmology. This includes the development of a completely unique, semi-permanent eye drop platform for delivering ophthalmic drugs. Controlled release systems are of particular interest in the eye, where patients stand to benefit greatly from significantly decreased dosing frequency and risk of side effects. In the lab, Dr. DiLeo and her team are currently testing a number of these systems for a variety of diseases, including glaucoma and ocular infection. Another aim of the lab is regeneration and/or protection of ocular tissues using readily translatable biomimetic materials.  Dr. DiLeo currently receives funding from the NIH, the Cystinosis Research Foundation, and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation.  Dr. DiLeo has 4 pending patents based on her research, which you can learn more about here.

Dr. DiLeo and her work have received many accolades, including a 2016 selection as an “Emerging Vision Scientist” by the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR) and the inaugural University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s Innovation Award in 2017.

Dr. DiLeo is affiliated with the following professional societies and organizations:

• Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)
• Women in Eye and Vision Research (WEAVR)
• Society for Biomaterials (SFB)
• International Society for Eye Research (ISER).

Graduate Women in Engineering Network (GWEN) at the University of Pittsburgh, of which Dr. DiLeo is the founder and faculty director.

View a list of Dr. Fedorchak’s publications here.