Roles
Professor of Ophthalmology
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Biography
I graduated from Moscow State University in Russia and obtained a PhD degree in molecular genetics at the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics in Moscow. I also received postdoctoral training at the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. My background includes a broad knowledge of cell and molecular biology, cell-cell signaling, and neuroinflammation in the central nervous system.
I started my independent research career at Washington University in St. Louis, where I received my first R01 award and a US Presidential PECASE Award in 2004 for my studies on lens development. Currently, at the University of Miami School of Medicine, my research is focused on retinal cell and disease biology, innate immune responses, and other cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying ganglion cell dysfunction and degeneration, which is a fundamental clinical problem in glaucoma.
My team at the University of Miami School of Medicine is actively exploring the therapeutic potential of drug compounds that modulate the activities of cell surface mechanosensory proteins and channels, as well as retinal inflammasomes, in preventing the onset and progression of glaucoma. I have successfully served as the lead PI on several collaborative NIH-funded projects, and I also serve as a member of scientific review groups at NIH and as an editor on scientific journals. -
Education & Training
Education
Post Graduate Training
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Honors & Awards
No result found
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Teaching Interests
In my classes, I teach courses on eye development and gap junctions for graduate students, including:
• MDB652 "Eye Development" and MDB651 "Gap Junctions" - courses in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology
• "Digital Image Analysis and Publishing" - a course in Methods in Cell Biology
• "Introduction to Informatics, Systems Biology and Network Analysis" - lectures for graduate students
I also participate in CME Genetics Conferences for medical students and residents.
In the lab, I mentor a diverse group of students, including medical school undergraduates, volunteers, and external trainees with both MD and PhD degrees, postdoctoral researchers, Ph.D. candidates, young investigator grantees, and NIH K99/AHA recipients. My mentoring efforts focus on creating a learning environment that cultivates scientific rigor and biological insights. I am also a member of the Graduate Faculty for the Department of Cell Biology and the Department of Neuroscience. Additionally, I also participate in the Translational Grant Review Panel at the University of Miami CTSI Institute. -
Research Interests
• Vision system development
• Age-related and stress-induced retinal degenerations
• Neuroinflammation and innate immune responses in neurodegenerative disorders
• Purinergic and mechanosensory signaling and channelopathies in ocular disorders, cell and developmental biology, and retinal neurobiology
• Translational studies in biomarkers for neurological disorders, new therapeutic targets, and their therapeutic modulation
• Animal models of neurodegenerative disorders
• Bioinformatics and pathway analysis
• The human microbiome -
Publications
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