Dr. Perez spends sixty percent of his time in his laboratory researching ocular immunology and transplantation. He complements this with his work as Director of the Ocular Surface Program, evaluating and treating patients with ocular inflammatory diseases and conditions of the anterior segment. In addition to ocular surface, he manages patients with uveitis, transplantation and diseases of the eye that also have inflammation.

Dr. Perez's laboratory focuses primarily on researching immunology of corneal transplantation and ocular Graft vs Host Disease (GVHD). Dr. Perez and his colleagues use a mouse model of corneal transplantation and Ocular GVHD that allows for translational research relevant to patients with penetrating keratoplasty and ocular GVHD. Dr. Perez's grant from the National Eye Institute supports his lab's work on the immunological mechanisms involved in high-risk corneal transplant rejection and ocular GVHD.