Dr. Tyler Engstrom (UNC Physics) and Dr. Andrea James (UNC Biological Sciences) were awarded a $413,920 grant from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health for their interdisciplinary project, “Developing new biophysical models of choroid fissure closure in zebrafish and foveal pit formation across species.” This project will address a basic research need for quantitative eye morphogenesis models that are tested against experimental data and that can shed light on biophysical mechanisms during eye development. Such models will aid in treatment and prevention of colobomas, foveal hypoplasia, and other developmental diseases of the eye. UNC physics and biology majors will be recruited to work on all aspects of the proposed research, through twelve paid positions to be created over the next three years.