RESEARCH SUMMARY
The economic burden of visual impairment and blindness is high. Preventing vision loss is an unmet public health need Patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and Usher syndrome develop impaired night vision and a reduced visual field that precede the loss of central vision (i.e., rods die before cones). In contrast, cone cell death is the primary etiology of cone-rod dystrophy and some forms of macular degeneration. My current lab studies the protein transport, organelle genesis, and homeostasis of photoreceptors and retinal pigment epithelial cells. Our overarching goal is to understand the etiology of various types of retinal degenerative diseases and find vision restoration therapies for patients with blinding diseases.
Our specific research areas include:
1. Genetics, cell biology, pathology, and therapeutic avenues for RP and Usher syndrome
2. Sorting, transport, and outer segment targeting of photoreceptor proteins
3. Retinal homeostasis and age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
4. Technical advances in retinal cell biology
5. Ciliary dynamics, cell cycle progression, and cell fate choice
Keywords:
Photoreceptor, retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, retinitis pigmentosa (RP), Usher Syndrome, aged-related macular degeneration (AMD), endomembrane transport, organelle homeogenesis, stem cell fate choice, neurogenesis, ciliary biology, cell cycle control