Research Chairs and Professorships
 

Four chairs in retina research have been established, three at the University of Wisconsin, and one at Baylor College of Medicine. The Chair at Baylor College of Medicine has yet to be named.

2008 Recipients
RRF Research Chairs
Past Award Recipients

 

Baylor College of Medicine - TBA
RRF Chair University of Wisconson  School of Medicine & Public Health Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science
Nader Sheibani, PhD     2006 - Permanent University of Wisconsin
Angiogenesis Dr. Sheibani’s research focuses on understanding the normal molecular and cellular mechanisms that control retinal vascularization and how alteration in these mechanisms result in the pathological growth of new blood vessels, Dr. Sheibani is the first to successfully culture retinal vascular cells from wild type and transgenic mice. A focus of his future research is to study the interrelationship among retinal vascular cells during normal and pathological retinal vascularization. His work in angiogenesis, which is so attractive to those working in vision research, has broad application to a number of disease entities and could a have implications that reach beyond vision.
Walter H. Helmerich Chair Univ. of Wisconson School Of Medicine & Public Health Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science
Nansi Jo Colley, PhD   2008 - 2010 Professor Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences School of Medicine and Public Health University of Wisconsin-Madison
Retinal Degeneration Through the Eye of the Fly The overall objective of our research program is to use the power of Drosophila, the common fruit fly, as a model for studying hereditary human retinal diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). A challenge in diagnosing and treating AMD and RP is that they are highly complex diseases with multiple subtypes, each with a distinct genetic and biochemical basis. This complexity, along with the limited availability of suitable tissues from RP and AMD patients and the broad base of knowledge of Drosophila genetic, all combine to make Drosophila a highly effective animal model for studying inherited retinal degeneration disorders. We are specifically focused on those events in protein biosynthesis that ensure correct protein folding, modification, assembly, quality control, transport and targeting of newly synthesized proteins. Proteins are synthesized, and correctly folded, in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and are then transported through the secretory pathway to their final destination within the cell. We have shown that defects in protein folding and transport though the secretory pathway lead to retinal degeneration in Drosophila. Similarly, there are a growing number of retinal pathologies in both RP and AMD that result from defects in protein folding and transport. The accumulation of improperly processed proteins stimulates extensive cellular responses that lead to pathogenesis and cell death no only in RP one AMD but also in other neurodegnerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s  Disease. The proper folding and transport of protein is critical for cell viability and defects in these processes represent a fundamental threat to all living cells. Studies that we are conducing in the common fruit fly, Drosophila, are providing fundamental insights into the genetic basis and molecular/biochemical mechanisms of these diseases.
Emmett A. Humble Distinguished Director UW Eye Research Institute
Daniel M. Albert, MD, MS     2007 - Director of the Eye Research Institute University of Wisconsin-Madison Dr. Albert’s research career of nearly 40 years, which has produced significant contributions in the treatment and understanding of eye cancers, in particular, has spurred his investigations in the use of vitamin D and other natural compounds to reduce tumor size.
2007 Recipients RRF Professorships
Edwin and Dorothy Gamewell Professorship
David M. Gamm, MD, PhD     2006-2008 Eye Research Institute University of Wisconsin-Madison
Deriving Photoreceptors form Human Embryonic Stem Cells Embryonic stem (ES) cell technology has the potential to provide a renewable supply of human cells for use in the laboratory and clinic.  This is especially important for degenerative diseases of the central nervous system, in which, neurons are permanently lost leading to irreversible deficits or death.  In the eye, retinal degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration result in the loss of specialized, light sensing neurons called photoreceptors, causing blindness. Thus the successful derivation of photoreceptors from human ES (hES) would not only advance our knowledge of basic photoreceptor development, but also offer a source of human cells for drug testing and transplantation.  Unfortunately, no published protocol to date has been able to direct human ES cells to a photoreceptor fate in vitro.
Rebecca Meyer Brown Professorship Eye Research Institute University of Wisconsin-Madison
Akihiro Ikeda, DVM, PhD     2007-2009
Pathological and genetic analysis of new ENU-induced mutant mice showing abnormal electroretinograms.  Dr. Ikeda uses a mouse model of retinoschisis, a common inherited macular degeneration that is known to be caused by mutation in the RS1 gene. Using positional cloning, Dr. Ikeda has identified a single major gene modifier locus that produces a change in the schisis phenotype and the layer structural abnormality. The overall strategy of positional cloning is to map the location of a human disease gene by linkage analysis and to then use the mapped location on the chromosome to clone (or copy) the gene. Positional cloning (identifying genes by location first then discovering the gene’s function) is a relatively new approach to finding disease–related genes.  His studies now are moving toward learning more about the molecular pathway through which the RS! gene functions. His lab is working on characterizing the role of Rs1h in retinal cell morphology and synaptic function, as well as generating a high-resolution map of the gene modifier locus.
W.D. Matthews Research Professorship Eye Research Institute University of Wisconsin-Madison
Arthur S. Polans     2008 -
Dr. Polans research is highly respected and addresses important clinical problems in retina and oncology. He has developed some remarkable collaboration to improve non-invasive imaging techniques in the eye and couples these methods with the delivery of novel formulas for the treatment of neovascular diseases of the retina. These same approaches also will be of an exceptional importance to the treatment of retinoblastoma and uveal melanoma and perhaps other types of cancers as well.