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Joshua
L. Dunaief, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
305 Stellar Chance Labs/6100
(215)-898-5235
Email: jdunaief@mail.med.upenn.edu
Click here for selected publications since Dr. Dunaief's arrival at Penn
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), oxidative stress in retinal disease,
retinal iron metabolism, apoptosis in the retina.RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
Microarray analysis, histology and immunohistochemistry on post mortem human retinas and transgenic mouse retinas, retinal pigment epithelial cell tissue culture, mouse photic injury model of retinal degeneration, retinal gene therapy.RESEARCH SUMMARY
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of legal blindness among people aged 60 and older in the United States , is thought to be caused or exacerbated by oxidative stress. We have found elevated levels of iron in retinas from patients with AMD (Hahn et al., 2003). Further, a mouse deficient in two iron export proteins develops retinal iron overload and retinal degeneration resembling AMD (Hahn et al., 2004). Iron can cause oxidative stress and has been associated with other age dependent neurodegenerations including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Our research goal is to increase understanding of retinal iron homeostasis and provide a model system for iron chelation therapy. To this end, we study iron homeostasis in retinal cell tissue culture, transgenic and knockout mouse models and human retinal tissues.
KEY WORDS:
retina, oxidative stress, apoptosis, AMD
