Xian-Jie Yang Laboratory

I. We are using molecular genetic approaches to addresses mechanisms of neuroprotection:

• Which cellular metabolic pathways contribute to neuronal maintenance?
• How does retinal degeneration alter mitochondrial morphology and function?
• What cellular signaling events are triggered by trophic factors to enhance neuronal viability?
• How to elicit retinal intrinsic neuroprotective potential?

Outcomes of the research will provide much needed insight for ongoing clinical trials aimed at treating retinal degenerative diseases.

II. We are using stem cell technology and virus-mediated gene delivery to study human retinal development, elucidate disease mechanism of inherited optic neuropathy, and develop effective therapies:

• How does neurogenic transcription factors regulate early retinal neuronal fates?
• Does mitochondrial deficiency affect human retinogenesis?
• What are the disease phenotypes of optic neuropathy in stem cell-based models?
• Can viral vector-mediated gene therapy or metabolic modulation attenuate inherited retinal degeneration?

These studies will provide more efficient methodology to produce human retinal neurons and new knowledge regarding human retinal development. Furthermore, stem cell-based human optic neuropathy disease models will be a valuable testing platform to evaluate the efficacy of novel treatment strategy prior to clinical trials.