Photoreceptor Survival

A K08 grant has been awarded to Thomas Wubben, M.D., Ph.D., for research focused on the retina’s photoreceptors, which change light into a series of biological processes the brain can then process as an image. Photoreceptor death is the ultimate cause of vision loss in many retinal disorders, including inherited retinal degenerations, retinal detachment, and dry age-related macular degeneration. No successful treatment options currently exist to prevent photoreceptor loss, so there is an urgent unmet need for therapies that improve photoreceptor survival and ultimately, vision.

Disruption of nutrient availability and regulation of cell metabolism is thought to be a unifying mechanism in photoreceptor death. To this end, improving the understanding of metabolism in retinal cells and how it is altered in disease was recently identified as a specific knowledge gap in the field of retinal degenerations. The proposed research will interpret the complex interplay between photoreceptor metabolism and oxidative stress, and how they intersect to affect photoreceptor survival.

To conduct his research, Dr. Wubben will utilize the resources, mentoring, and internationally recognized expertise in metabolism and metabolomics at the University of Michigan. His primary mentor is Charles Burant, M.D., Ph.D., the Director of the Michigan Regional Comprehensive Metabolomics Resource Core (MRC2) and A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute at Michigan Medicine, due to his expertise in metabolomics. He will be co-mentored by Santiago Schnell, DPhil (Oxon), F.R.S.C., the chair of the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, who is an internationally renowned theoretical and mathematical biologist. In addition, Dr. Wubben’s advisory committee includes cancer biologist Costas Lyssiotis, Ph.D., and vitreoretinal specialist Cagri Besirli, M.D., Ph.D.