Diagnostics and Therapeutic Approaches to Fight Inherited Blindness

DATE: April 2019
University of California, Irvine | Ophthalmology
Susie Suh, MD/PhD Candidate

In the laboratory of Professor Krzysztof Palczewksi, we aim to understand the biochemistry of visual cycle, the etiology of human blinding retinopathies, and develop diagnostic and therapeutic approaches against inherited blindness. We use Hamilton needles in many studies. We use needles when we perform HPLC to analyze the retinoid profiling and quantification. We also use needles for animal intraocular injection, which has been an essential technique. We perform intravitreal injection to mice eyes to stain specific cell types and visualize with two-photon microscope to better understand the biological processes that remain unknown. We also perform intraocular injection to deliver viral vectors to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of gene therapy. We have profound experience in intraocular injections, and the microliter syringes and needles from Hamilton were essential tools for performing precise injections into mice successfully. This grant will be very helpful for purchasing different-sized syringes and needles for multiple purposes in our lab.

The unique strength of our lab is that we contribute to vision research from multiple perspectives. We study the protein structure and biochemistry associated with vision, pharmacological and gene therapy for retinal disorders and diagnostic tools non-invasive retina imaging. Hamilton syringes and needles are essential tools used in most of these studies.