Specialization
Inherited retinal diseases
Translational preclinical research
Experimental therapeutics
Model development
Regenerative medicine
Focus of research
My research aims to understand why specific genetic defects cause selective, progressive retinal degeneration and how this knowledge can translate into targeted therapies. I lead a translational research line at the interface of ophthalmogenetics, stem cell biology, and regenerative medicine, connecting disease mechanisms to therapeutic development.
I use patient-derived and genetically defined experimental models, including animal models, stem cell-derived retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), and retinal organoids, to investigate disease mechanisms and identify clinically relevant biomarkers. By integrating molecular, structural, and functional analyses—including optical coherence tomography, electroretinography, behavioral vision assays, and ex vivo assessments—I aim to establish robust outcome measures for preclinical studies.
A central direction of my research is developing and evaluating precision therapies, including gene replacement, CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing, metabolic interventions, and retinal cell replacement. I combine these approaches with tissue engineering and biomaterial strategies to address barriers to effective retinal repair.
Through multidisciplinary collaboration and integration of patient perspectives, my goal is to build an independent research program that bridges fundamental disease biology and clinical translation, ultimately enabling more precise and effective treatments for inherited retinal disease.