In 2019 we lost several towering figures in the field of corneal biology: James Funderburgh, James Zieske, and Thomas Linsenmayer. These leaders had a combined over 120+ years of research experience, contributed over 300 papers, and have directly led to the development of sight saving treatments.

The field of corneal biology was advanced immensely through the discoveries that came from these laboratories, including the discovery of the stromal stem cell population, which has been used in clinical trials to prevent scarring. Other discoveries include the understanding of corneal fibrosis and repair, which has led to improved outcomes for patient’s post-surgery, as well as the description of corneal development and the genesis of its collagenous scaffold.

To honour their memory, we present this Special Issue, which aims to demonstrate the applications of their discoveries as well as describe the future challenges and big issues that face the field of corneal biology. To that end, we invite researchers to submit original research and review articles with a focus on these challenges.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Regeneration of the corneal stroma
• Stem cells of the corneal stroma
• Regulation of corneal extracellular matrix
• Corneal wound healing
• Epithelial and stromal crosstalk in the cornea
• Overcoming challenges in stem cell based corneal treatments
• Role of extracellular matrix in corneal cell differentiation
• Keratocytes in development and wound healing
• Role of extracellular vesicles in intercellular communication in cornea
• Corneal endothelial cell function and regeneration
• Corneal diseases and dystrophies
• Gene therapy/editing
• Epigenetics