Mari Carmen Acosta

Professor - Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche

Mari Carmen Acost, is the Principal Investigator of the Ocular Neurobiology Group at the Instituto de Neurociencias and holds the position of Professor of Physiology at UMH (Spain). Her expertise lies in electrophysiological recording of sensory nerve endings and axons, conducting behavioral experiments in animals, and performing psychophysics in humans.

Mari Carmen group’s focus on studying the sensory innervation activity from the ocular surface, encompassing transduction mechanisms, reflex initiation, trophism, and sensations evoked in humans. Their research is dedicated to understanding how ocular surface sensory innervation is altered by dryness, inflammation, or contact lens use, with an approach that considers not only the electrical changes in nerve activity but also explores the molecular and ionic mechanisms (TRPs, Na+, K+ channels) that generate and regulate their activity. Additionally, Mari Carmen’s group investigates the role of ocular sensory nerves in controlling blinking and tearing, as these functions are also impacted in ocular pathologies.