Postdoctoral Positions in Visual Neuroscience
We are seeking highly motivated postdoctoral researchers to pursue the most challenging topics in visual neuroscience. The main research interests of our laboratory focus on the mechanistic and therapeutic studies of neurodegenerative diseases in the retina, ultimately leading to blindness in humans. To restore functions, neuroprotection and neural regeneration are two strategies to either prevent/slow down neuronal death or to generate new neurons or axons. Please submit your application to: [email protected]
1. For neuroprotection, we investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying HDAC4-mediated neuroprotective effects on photoreceptors, the primary sensory neurons that mediate the first step in vision.
Guo XZ, Wang SB, Xu HP, Ribic A, Mohns EJ, Zhou Y, Zhu XJ, Biederer T, Crair MC, Chen B. A Short N-terminal Domain of HDAC4 Preserves Photoreceptors and Restores Visual Function in Retinitis Pigmentosa. Nature Communications. 2015 Aug 14;6:8005.
Chen B and Cepko CL. HDAC4 regulates neuronal survival in normal and diseased retinas. Science. 2009 Jan 9;323(5911):256-9.
2. For neural regeneration, we examine intrinsic signaling pathways and transcription control in Müller glial cells, the primary glial cell type in the retina, in order to reprogram them in vivo to generate adult retinal stem cells that are capable of differentiating to retinal neurons. In addition, my laboratory is also actively exploring strategies to promote axon regeneration after nerve injury in the adult CNS (central nervous system).
Guo XZ, Snider WD, Chen B. “GSK3β regulates AKT-induced CNS axon regeneration through an eIF2Bε-dependent, mTOR-independent signaling pathway”. eLife. 2016;5:e11903. Research highlighted in Nature. 2016 April 7:v532.
Yao K, Qiu S, Tian L, Snider WD, Flannery JG, Schaffer DV, Chen B. “Wnt regulatesproliferation and neurogenic potential of Müller glial cells through a Lin28/let-7 miRNA-dependent pathway in adult mammalian retinas”. Cell Reports. 2016 Sep 27;17(1):165-78.
