Ana J. Chucair-Elliott, PhD

Research Summary

Aging is the major driver to the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the irreversible loss of vision. Atrophy of the RPE layer is an AMD hallmark that often precedes photoreceptor cell loss implicating RPE dysfunction as a pathogenic driver of disease onset. On the other hand, retina Müller glia, microglia, and vascular cell activation are also involved in disease pathogenesis. The overall significance of my research stems from the premise that maladaptive changes in the epigenome, mainly DNA methylation and chromatin accessibility, accumulate in a cell-specific fashion in RPE, retina glia (microglia and Müller glia), and vascular cells (endothelial cells, mural cells) with advanced age, as well as in response to environmental factors, such as diet and oxidative stress, to influence gene expression profiles, leading to cell dysfunction and contributing to disease pathogenesis. My research aims to provide fundamental knowledge to the field and new biological/functional insights into RPE/retina aging as well as identify cell-specific epigenomic targets for manipulation that are relevant to the design of better therapies to treat retinal diseases, such as AMD, diabetic retinopathy, and retinopathy of prematurity.