My research focuses on glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness worldwide. In the visual system, retinal ganglion cells play a key role in transmitting visual signals from the eye to the brain. In glaucoma patients, damages to the retinal ganglion cell (RGC) soma and axon lead to progressive loss of visual function and eventually blindness. Although glaucoma has been studied for decades, the exact disease mechanism(s) is still not fully understood.
Current research projects:
- Determine the cross-talk between the Wnt and TGFβ signaling pathways in the TM
- Determine if CRISPR interference is a useful tool for manipulating gene expression in the trabecular meshwork
- In collaboration with Dr. Vijay Raghunathan at University of Houston to determine the contribution of actin microfilament rearrangement to TM cell stiffness as well as whether a set of actin-binding proteins are able to promote this rearrangement
Research in the Mao Lab focuses on glaucoma and retinal ganglion cells patients lose that transmit visual signal from the eye to the brain. The research team found that cell signaling changes elevate high eye pressure, which kills retinal ganglion cells and causes glaucoma. Currently, the lab working on understand the role of the Wnt signaling pathway in the trabecular meshwork tissue.
