About Me
I am a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, affiliated with the Translational Eye and Vision Research (TrEVR) Center and the Center for Redox Biology and Medicine (CRBM). I received postdoctoral training at the University of Oklahoma and Johns Hopkins University and multiple research awards, including NIH R01 grants. I published over 50 peer-reviewed publications. My work focuses on diabetic retinopathy, retinal inflammation, and neurovascular degeneration. My research applies molecular biology, immunology, and vascular biology to develop new therapies for vision-threatening retinal diseases.
My laboratory investigates the molecular and cellular mechanisms that drive ischemic, inflammatory, and degenerative retinal diseases. We study how cytokines, metabolic dysregulation, and immune signals contribute to retinal disease progression. We also study the influence of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in retinal cell-cell communication in pathophysiological states. We use advanced techniques such as CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, omics profiling, single-cell RNA sequencing, and iPSC-derived retinal and vascular organoids to identify therapeutic targets and develop treatment strategies aimed at preserving vision.