Dr. Nau's work focuses on the development of research and clinical innovations that may help to improve quality of life for people with limited or no vision.
Dr. Nau recently obtained a $1 million Pennsylvania state grant to research vision substitution as a means for the blind and vision-impaired to acquire vision through non-visual pathways. As part of this study, titled “Artificial Vision: Defining the Criteria for Ocular Prosthetic Evaluation and Use,” she will be researching BrainPort, a vision-assist device that enables the perception of visual information using the tongue and camera system as a paired substitute for the eyes.
In addition to her appointment at the UPMC Eye Center, Dr. Nau is an assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Dr. Nau received a bachelor’s degree from Saint Michael’s College in Vermont and completed the Harvard University’s Health Careers Program before obtaining her optometry degree from the New England College of Optometry. She completed her residency training at the Boston Veteran’s Administration Health System, West Roxbury.