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Joshua L. Dunaief, MD, PhD
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Adele Niessen Professor of Ophthalmology
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Member, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania
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Member, Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania
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Scientist, F.M. Kirby Center for Molecular Ophthalmology, University of Pennsylvania
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Member, Institute on Aging, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania
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Member, Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania
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Chair, D-COAP, UPenn Department of Ophthalmology
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Vice Chair for Research, Scheie Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pennsylvania
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Department: Ophthalmology
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Graduate Group Affiliations
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- Pharmacology 41
- Bioengineering 6b
- Cell and Molecular Biology 64
- Neuroscience e
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Contact information
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305B Stellar Chance
37 422 Curie Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6100
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37 422 Curie Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6100
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Office: 215-898-5235
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Publications
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Links
99 Search PubMed for articles
41 Neuroscience graduate group faculty webpage.
4b lab website
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99 Search PubMed for articles
41 Neuroscience graduate group faculty webpage.
4b lab website
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Education:
21 9 B.A. 14 (Biology) c
3d Harvard University (magna cum laude), 1987.
21 8 PhD 19 (Microbiology) c
2c Columbia University, 1994.
21 7 MD c
2c Columbia University, 1996.
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Permanent link21 9 B.A. 14 (Biology) c
3d Harvard University (magna cum laude), 1987.
21 8 PhD 19 (Microbiology) c
2c Columbia University, 1994.
21 7 MD c
2c Columbia University, 1996.
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4d Mechanisms and therapeutics for age-related retinal neurodegeneration
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89 Key words: Macular degeneration, oxidative stress, iron transport, apoptosis, retina, aging, inflammation, transcriptomics
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26 Description of Research
40b Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible blindness, yet its pathogenesis is poorly understood. Evidence suggests that cumulative oxidative damage contributes to AMD and aging in general. The Dunaief lab has found that AMD retinas have iron overload, which can cause oxidative stress. Increased understanding of retinal iron homeostasis may lead to treatments for AMD. To investigate the mechanisms of retinal iron regulation, the lab uses conditional knockout mouse models, human retinal tissue, and retinal cell tissue culture. A mouse line deficient in the iron transporting ferroxidases ceruloplasmin and hephaestin develops age-dependent retinal iron overload and retinal degeneration with features of AMD (Hahn et al., PNAS, 2004). Recent research in the lab indicates that inflammation promotes cellular iron overload in a vicious cycle leading to cell death. Our current focus is on the mechanisms of retinal iron homeostasis and development of therapeutics to protect the retina.
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20 Rotation Projects
125 1)Study mechanisms of retinal iron regulation by performing histology and immunofluorescence on retinal sections from conditional knockout mice. You will learn retinal anatomy and the techniques of ocular microdissection, cryosectioning, plastic sectioning and fluorescence microscopy.
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bd 2)In retinal cell culture, study the effects of inflammatory mediators on retinal iron transporters. You will learn tissue culture, qPCR, Western analysis, and cell death assays.
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89 3) Use FACS to isolate single retinal cell types and determine the effects of iron transporter knockouts on their transcriptome.
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1d Lab personnel:
25 Delu Song, Research Associate
26 Ying Song, Research Specialist
27 Bailey Baumann, VMD/PhD Student
2c Edward Linton, UPenn Medical Student
2b Rupak Bhuyan, UPenn Medical Student
31 Danielle Minichino, CAMB Rotating Student
24 Shounan Qi, Visiting Scholar
2b Jacob Sterling, UPenn Undergraduate
28 Samy Guttha, Drexel Undergraduate
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Description of Research Expertise
2b Research Interests4d Mechanisms and therapeutics for age-related retinal neurodegeneration
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89 Key words: Macular degeneration, oxidative stress, iron transport, apoptosis, retina, aging, inflammation, transcriptomics
8
26 Description of Research
40b Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible blindness, yet its pathogenesis is poorly understood. Evidence suggests that cumulative oxidative damage contributes to AMD and aging in general. The Dunaief lab has found that AMD retinas have iron overload, which can cause oxidative stress. Increased understanding of retinal iron homeostasis may lead to treatments for AMD. To investigate the mechanisms of retinal iron regulation, the lab uses conditional knockout mouse models, human retinal tissue, and retinal cell tissue culture. A mouse line deficient in the iron transporting ferroxidases ceruloplasmin and hephaestin develops age-dependent retinal iron overload and retinal degeneration with features of AMD (Hahn et al., PNAS, 2004). Recent research in the lab indicates that inflammation promotes cellular iron overload in a vicious cycle leading to cell death. Our current focus is on the mechanisms of retinal iron homeostasis and development of therapeutics to protect the retina.
8
20 Rotation Projects
125 1)Study mechanisms of retinal iron regulation by performing histology and immunofluorescence on retinal sections from conditional knockout mice. You will learn retinal anatomy and the techniques of ocular microdissection, cryosectioning, plastic sectioning and fluorescence microscopy.
8
bd 2)In retinal cell culture, study the effects of inflammatory mediators on retinal iron transporters. You will learn tissue culture, qPCR, Western analysis, and cell death assays.
8
89 3) Use FACS to isolate single retinal cell types and determine the effects of iron transporter knockouts on their transcriptome.
8
1d Lab personnel:
25 Delu Song, Research Associate
26 Ying Song, Research Specialist
27 Bailey Baumann, VMD/PhD Student
2c Edward Linton, UPenn Medical Student
2b Rupak Bhuyan, UPenn Medical Student
31 Danielle Minichino, CAMB Rotating Student
24 Shounan Qi, Visiting Scholar
2b Jacob Sterling, UPenn Undergraduate
28 Samy Guttha, Drexel Undergraduate
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Description of Clinical Expertise
36 age-related macular degeneration (AMD)1a 29
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144 Foshe S, Shi S, Bell BA, Lee S, Shankar A, Dine K, Song Y, Vithayathil J, Ross AG, Dunaief JL.: A Remarkable Tale: Increased Retinal Fluorescence Following Application of Permanent Marker Ink to Mouse Tails. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 67: 40, Mar 2026.
193 Li J, Wang T, Lu W, Jishkariani D, Tsourkas A, Kaja S, Vining KH, Thussananutiyakul J, Spence A, Nair RM, Dunaief JL, Mitchell CH.: PLGA nanoparticles restore acidic pH and degradative function to compromised lysosomes with Cy3-labeling providing enhanced tracking to lysosomes. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 330: C509-C523, Feb 2026.
de Zhang KR, Nair RM, Chen Y, Jin F, Dunaief JL, VanderBeek BL.: Oral Ursodeoxycholic Acid Is Associated With Decreased Rate of AMD. Clin Ther Sep 2025.
167 Guo M, Schwartz TD, Lawrence ECN, Lu J, Zhong A, Wu J, Sterling JK, Nikonov S, Dunaief JL, Cui QN.: Loss of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 reduced monocyte recruitment and preserved retinal ganglion cells in a mouse model of hypertensive glaucoma. Exp Eye Res 254: 110325, Mar 2025.
ee Zhang KR, Nair RM, Chen Y, Jin F, Dunaief J, VanderBeek BL.: Association of Age-Related Macular Degeneration with Cholelithiasis. Ophthalmol Sci 5: 100771, Mar 2025.
d1 Lee TT, Bell BA, Song Y, Dunaief JL.: Testosterone promotes photoreceptor degeneration in the sodium iodate model. Exp Eye Res Feb 2025.
f9 Anderson BD, Bell BA, Song Y, Lee TT, Wang T, Dunaief JL.: Systemic Sodium Iodate Injection as a Model for Expanding Geographic Atrophy. Transl Vis Sci Technol 14: 9, Jan 2025.
ea Wang T, Song Y, Bell BA, Anderson BD, Lee TT, Yu W, Dunaief JL.: Complement C3 knockout protects photoreceptors in the sodium iodate model. Exp Eye Res Jan 2025.
13f Wojciechowski AM, Bell BA, Song Y, Anderson BD, Conomikes A, Petruconis C, Dunaief JL.: Inducible RPE-specific GPX4 knockout causes oxidative stress and retinal degeneration with features of age-related macular degeneration. Exp Eye Res Oct 2024.
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Selected Publications
166 Foshe S, Anderson BD, Song Y, Shi S, Lee S, Bell BA, Park HG, Brenna JT, Shchepinov M, Dunaief JL.: Oral Deuterated Docosahexaenoic Acid Protects Against Onset and Progression of RPE Degeneration in a Mouse Model of Chronic Oxidative Stress. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 67: 28, Apr 2026.144 Foshe S, Shi S, Bell BA, Lee S, Shankar A, Dine K, Song Y, Vithayathil J, Ross AG, Dunaief JL.: A Remarkable Tale: Increased Retinal Fluorescence Following Application of Permanent Marker Ink to Mouse Tails. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 67: 40, Mar 2026.
193 Li J, Wang T, Lu W, Jishkariani D, Tsourkas A, Kaja S, Vining KH, Thussananutiyakul J, Spence A, Nair RM, Dunaief JL, Mitchell CH.: PLGA nanoparticles restore acidic pH and degradative function to compromised lysosomes with Cy3-labeling providing enhanced tracking to lysosomes. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 330: C509-C523, Feb 2026.
de Zhang KR, Nair RM, Chen Y, Jin F, Dunaief JL, VanderBeek BL.: Oral Ursodeoxycholic Acid Is Associated With Decreased Rate of AMD. Clin Ther Sep 2025.
167 Guo M, Schwartz TD, Lawrence ECN, Lu J, Zhong A, Wu J, Sterling JK, Nikonov S, Dunaief JL, Cui QN.: Loss of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 reduced monocyte recruitment and preserved retinal ganglion cells in a mouse model of hypertensive glaucoma. Exp Eye Res 254: 110325, Mar 2025.
ee Zhang KR, Nair RM, Chen Y, Jin F, Dunaief J, VanderBeek BL.: Association of Age-Related Macular Degeneration with Cholelithiasis. Ophthalmol Sci 5: 100771, Mar 2025.
d1 Lee TT, Bell BA, Song Y, Dunaief JL.: Testosterone promotes photoreceptor degeneration in the sodium iodate model. Exp Eye Res Feb 2025.
f9 Anderson BD, Bell BA, Song Y, Lee TT, Wang T, Dunaief JL.: Systemic Sodium Iodate Injection as a Model for Expanding Geographic Atrophy. Transl Vis Sci Technol 14: 9, Jan 2025.
ea Wang T, Song Y, Bell BA, Anderson BD, Lee TT, Yu W, Dunaief JL.: Complement C3 knockout protects photoreceptors in the sodium iodate model. Exp Eye Res Jan 2025.
13f Wojciechowski AM, Bell BA, Song Y, Anderson BD, Conomikes A, Petruconis C, Dunaief JL.: Inducible RPE-specific GPX4 knockout causes oxidative stress and retinal degeneration with features of age-related macular degeneration. Exp Eye Res Oct 2024.
2c