Sarah Hamm-Alvarez, PhD, completed her graduate studies in biochemistry in 1990 and postdoctoral training in cell biology in 1993 at Duke University.  Since joining University of Southern California (USC) in 1993, she has become a professor of ophthalmology and professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences, vice-chair for basic research (ophthalmology) and associate dean for basic and translational sciences at Keck School of Medicine, USC.  She and her colleagues study how cells of tear glands make and release proteins found in the tears and how diseases change protein content of the tears. Her laboratory has identified changes in the tears of people with Sjögren's syndrome and with Parkinson's disease that are relevant to diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. She aims to use these findings to find ways to diagnose diseases easier and earlier.