Retinal microglial activation, ocular neuroinflammation, retinal and choroidal angiogenesis, neovascular age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, human retinal tissue models, electrical stimulation.
My research philosophy is to keep patient relevance central by modeling retinal diseases using primary human retinal microglia and donor RPE/choroidal explants. These explants preserve native tissue architecture, multicellular interactions, and donor-specific disease characteristics, enabling direct investigation of inflammatory and angiogenic mechanisms in conditions that cannot be fully recapitulated in animal models, such as neovascular age-related macular degeneration. This approach aims to translate mechanistic discoveries into safer and more effective therapies for AMD, diabetic retinopathy, and retinal degeneration.
