The embryonic chicken (Gallus gallus) has proved an integral model organism for studying retina development. Furthermore, the embryonic chicken demonstrates the remarkable ability to regenerate retina in response to injury. Despite these important traits, a complete understanding of gene regulation during chick retinal development is lacking. Epigenetic regulation is an important class of gene regulation, […]
B09: Tandem repeat’s role in bone cancer—Osteosarcoma and their detection using a novel software
My research area has been focusing on creating software for analysis of repetitive elements in the human genome and its application in cancer treatment. In particular, I have developed a program called PyMISA that can detect microsatellites from a given DNA sequence. Microsatellites are tandem repeats of length 1 – 6 base pairs (e. g., […]
BRIV-01: Establishing an Ex-Vivo System to Study Newt Retina Regeneration via RPE Reprogramming
The study of retina regeneration in animal models has been of interest due to the implication it has in developing potential treatments for retinal diseases such as macular degeneration. Newts are excellent models to study regeneration because they retain the ability to regenerate their retina into adulthood. The process by which newts regenerate their retina […]
BRIII-04: Investigating the Role of Ephrin/Eph Signaling in Newt Lens Regeneration
Newts are amazing amphibians that are capable of regenerating many body parts including their limbs, brain, heart, and many eye parts. Specifically, our lab focuses on the newts’ ability to regenerate their lens. Following removal of the lens, cells from the upper portion of the iris (dorsal iris) lose their identity as iris cells and […]
C02: The Role of Macrophages in Newt Lens Regeneration
Cataract surgery has drastically improved in the past decades and improved the standard of living for millions of individuals across the globe. Despite these amazing strides, secondary cataracts occurs at a staggeringly high rate, with children being at the greatest risk of undergoing a harmful fibrotic response after the surgery and additional complications. Interestingly, organisms […]
C03: Exploring C3a Induced Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE) Reprogramming in the Embryonic Chick
Visual impairment due to retina diseases, such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retina detachment, impact over 4 million Americans each year. In the event that the retina is injured, inflammatory responses are activated, leaving a scar that hinders vision. Observations in model organisms, such as the embryonic chick, have shown that the complement component, […]
B48: Seeing Our Invisible Neighbors: Overcoming Plant Blindness at Miami and Beyond
Plant blindness may not seem like a huge problem, but a closer look at the issue reveals that it affects virtually everyone in a community. Our research addresses the question of what is plant blindness, and how can people at Miami and beyond overcome it? Never in our lifetime has the issue of plant blindness […]
BRII-05: Retina regeneration is dependent on key neurogenic factors
Following injury, the embryonic chicken has the capacity to regenerate a neural retina via reprogramming of cells of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). After surgical removal of the retina, the injured RPE cells initially respond to injury by dedifferentiating to a more plastic state. However, in order to drive RPE to complete the regeneration process, […]
CSII-06: The Axolotl as a Model Organism for Retinal Regeneration
The retina is an eye structure that receives light from the environment and converts it to neural signals for the initiation of vision. When a human retina is damaged, a thin cell layer behind the retina – the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) – responds to the injury by creating a scar that results in loss […]
CSIII-01: Uncovering the Newt’s Regenerative Secrets
Over 14 million people in the United States are currently living with cancer, a disease not limited to humans. In fact, several other animals elicit the growth of tumors when exposed to cancer-causing compounds commonly referred to as carcinogens. However, the newt, a type of salamander, can remain cancer-free when exposed to carcinogenic substances at […]