Gillian McLellan, BVMS, PhD, DECVO, DACVO
Credentials: Professor
Tim and Nancy Speaker Chair in Canine Health
I graduated from Glasgow University in Scotland in 1990 and worked in general veterinary practice for a few years before moving to London, where I completed a PhD and served as a lecturer in Ophthalmology. I crossed the Atlantic in 2000 to join the faculty at UC-Davis, then Iowa State University before moving North to Wisconsin where I currently hold a joint faculty position in both the School of Medicine and Public Health and School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A European Specialist in Veterinary Ophthalmology, I am a Past-President of the European College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ECVO), serve on the Editorial Board of the Journal Veterinary Ophthalmology, and have co-authored two textbooks: the BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Ophthalmology and Veterinary Ocular Pathology. My main research focus is comparative glaucoma but I treat the full spectrum of eye disorders in veterinary patients in my clinical practice at UW Veterinary Care. Outside of work, I enjoy live music, good food and spending time outdoors (wind-chill permitting) with my husband and very energetic twin boys. We share our family home with four cats and a chinchilla.
Kazu Oikawa, DVM, PhD
Credentials: Post-Doctoral Research Associate
I earned my BVSc (equivalent to DVM) in 2012 from Azabu University in Japan. For three years in the veterinary school, I worked in the veterinary ophthalmology department to assist with ophthalmic examinations and surgical operations. After earning my Japanese national veterinary license, I moved on to Nippon Veterinary Life-science University where I completed a rotating internship at the veterinary teaching hospital and joined a clinical pathology lab where I conducted an investigation of somatic gene mutational status in feline diffuse iris melanoma. I joined Dr. Gillian McLellan’s lab in September 2014 as a PhD student. Since completing my PhD, I continue to study the pathophysiology of glaucomatous optic neuropathy utilizing next generation sequencing and biomolecular techniques. Back home in Japan, I have a shiba dog and four domestic tabby cats who I’ve grown up with and my career goal is to become a veterinary ophthalmologist clinician-scientist.
Julie Kiland, MS
Credentials: Researcher
I’m a Researcher with over 20 years of experience in glaucoma research and have worked closely with Dr. McLellan in her studies of feline glaucoma since 2008. I earned my BA in Psychology at UW-Madison. After graduation, I joined Dr. Paul Kaufman’s lab studying the ocular diseases glaucoma and presbyopia. In 2003, I received my MS in Veterinary Science, while in the Kaufman lab. My graduate work focused on a possible association of intraocular pressure (IOP) lowering drops in decreasing flow through the conventional aqueous humor outflow pathway. In 2012 I obtained a Master’s certificate in project management from the UW School of Business and have been involved in the planning, conduct, and data analysis for a number of key studies including validation of rebound tonometry in monkeys and cats, as well as non-invasive in vivo electrophysiology, IOP, and in vivo imaging (fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, and OCT) studies. When not in the lab, I enjoy playing with my 2 standard poodles and 2 cats, biking, hiking, and playing bass in a couple of local rock/pop/alternative bands.
Virginia Mathu, BS
Credentials: Research Assistant, Comparative Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program
Since joining Dr. McLellan’s lab as an undergraduate student in 2019, I have been assisting with electroretinography and intraocular pressure measurements in cats. In 2020 I graduated from UW-Madison with a B.S. in chemistry and a certificate in art history. After graduation, I decided to continue my work in the lab as a research intern. Currently, I am assisting with exploring the mechanisms of glaucoma and Alzheimer’s disease using electrophysiology and microscopy techniques, and I have also learned characterize and culture feline and canine trabecular meshwork cells, which are believed to play a role in regulating intraocular pressure. In my free time, I can be found frequenting the public library, hiking around Madison, or painting.
Anjali Rai
Credentials: PhD Student, Comparative Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program
I earned my bachelor’s degree from Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Manipal, India) in 2022. During this time, I also interned at Kasturba Hospital Pharmacy (Manipal) working on a well-designed, short project for improving aqueous solubility of the BCS Class II drug Nebivolol. My experience with research and bench work motivated me to pursue a thesis-integrated master’s degree. To pursue this interest, I moved to the US and graduated from Creighton University (Omaha, NE) in 2024 with an MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences. My MS thesis focused on Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) and evaluating the intraocular pressure (IOP) efficacy of hydrogen sulfide releasing compounds in an ocular hypertensive rodent model. While working on my MS, my interest in vision sciences continued to grow, especially in the field of glaucoma; this led me to join Gill’s lab in 2024 as a PhD student. In my current project, I aim to characterize feline trabecular meshwork cell cultures from LTBP2 mutant cats. I also am planning to work on an LTBP2 conditional knockout mouse model and study the progression of glaucoma in these mice at different developmental stages. Outside of the lab, I like to work out, play badminton, and spend time with my two tabby cats at home. I fear that by the end of my PhD I will adopt another cat and will be a three-cat home.
McLellan Lab Alumni
- Sara Adelman, DVM, MS
- Kore Chan, DVM, MS
- Odalys Torné Escudé, DVM
- Kevin Snyder, DVM, MS, DACVO
- Kara Vogel, PhD
