




Gordon Fain Laboratory
Photoreceptor Physiology

Gordon L. Fain, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Ophthalmology
Jules Stein Eye Institute
The Fain laboratory studies the biophysical mechanisms of photoreceptor function and adaptation. Our research focuses on understanding how photoreceptors respond to light and adapt to different lighting conditions, contributing to both normal vision and retinal disease mechanisms.
Research Focus Areas:
- Photoreceptor light adaptation mechanisms
- Calcium regulation in photoreceptor function
- Energy metabolism in rods and cones
- Mechanisms of photoreceptor survival and degeneration
- Cellular basis of light and dark adaptation
Our work combines electrophysiology and imaging approaches to understand the fundamental mechanisms of photoreceptor function. These studies have provided key insights into how the retina processes visual information and adapts to changing light conditions.
Recent Publications
Conservation of cis-regulatory codes over half a billion years of evolution
Gordon Fain, Ala Morshedian, Joseph C. Corbo, Yu Liu, Connie Myers, Yohey Ogawa, Alapakkam Sampath
Science Advances (2025)
View PublicationThe PDE6 mutation in the rd10 retinal degeneration mouse model causes protein mislocalization and instability and promotes cell death through increased ion influx.
Wang T, Reingruber J, Woodruff ML, Majumder A, Camarena A, Artemyev NO, Fain GL, Chen J
The Journal of biological chemistry (2018)
View PublicationRod and cone interactions in the retina [version 1; referees: 4 approved]
Gordon Fain, Alapakkam P. Sampath
F1000Research (2018)
View PublicationRole of recoverin in rod photoreceptor light adaptation.
Morshedian A, Woodruff ML, Fain GL
The Journal of physiology (2018)
View PublicationLight adaptation and the evolution of vertebrate photoreceptors.
Morshedian A, Fain GL
The Journal of physiology (2017)
View PublicationCambrian origin of the CYP27C1-mediated vitamin A1-to-A2 switch, a key mechanism of vertebrate sensory plasticity.
Morshedian A, Toomey MB, Pollock GE, Frederiksen R, Enright JM, McCormick SD, Cornwall MC, Fain GL, Corbo JC
Royal Society open science (2017)
View PublicationBlue light regenerates functional visual pigments in mammals through a retinyl-phospholipid intermediate.
Kaylor JJ, Xu T, Ingram NT, Tsan A, Hakobyan H, Fain GL, Travis GH
Nature communications (2017)
View PublicationThe evolution of rod photoreceptors.
Morshedian A, Fain GL
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences (2017)
View PublicationWhy are rods more sensitive than cones?
Ingram NT, Sampath AP, Fain GL
The Journal of physiology (2016)
View PublicationPhototransduction: Making the Chromophore to See Through the Murk.
Fain GL
Current biology : CB (2015)
View Publication