All Posts by

Leslie Merryman

2024 Resident Match!

Congratulations to the newest University of Florida ophthalmology residents! We are so excited to have you all join us in Gainesville!…

Expression of red/green-cone opsin mutants K82E, P187S, M273K result in unique pathobiological perturbations to cone structure and function

Congratulations to Dr. Xiaojie Ma and Frank Dyka on the publication of “Expression of red/green-cone opsin mutants K82E, P187S, M273K result in unique pathobiological perturbations to cone structure and function,” which appears in the February issue of Frontiers in Neuroscience. Long-and middle-wavelength cone photoreceptors, which are responsible for our visual…

rAAV-compatible human mini promoters enhance transgene expression in rat retinal ganglion cells

Congratulations to Dr. William Hauswirth on the publication of “rAAV-compatible human mini promoters enhance transgene expression in rat retinal ganglion cells,” which appears in the February issue of Experimental Eye Research. Abstract Recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors (rAAV) are the safest and most effective gene delivery platform to drive the treatment of…

International Symposium on Retinal Degeneration

The University of Florida was well represented at the twentieth meeting of the International Symposium on Retinal Degeneration held in Torremolinos, Spain. Attending this meeting were faculty members Cristhian Ildefonso, and Clay Smith along with PhD candidate Raela Ridley who all presented on their research to develop treatments to help…

Dr. Eric Pierce Grand Rounds Guest Speaker on 12/1

Dr. Pierce’s research program is focused on improving our understanding of the genetic causality of inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) and developing genetically informed therapies for these disorders.  His work has led to the identification of several IRD disease genes, helped highlight the importance of non-coding mutations in IRDs, and…

Use of AAV-expressed M013 protein as an anti-inflammatory therapeutic

Congratulations to Dr. Cristhian Ildefonso on his patent “Use of AAV-expressed M013 protein as an anti-inflammatory therapeutic.” Abstract Disclosed are methods and compositions for preventing, treating, and/or ameliorating one or more symptoms of inflammation in a mammal. In particular, viral vectors and medicaments containing them are disclosed, which are useful…

Maturation of synaptic ribbons and synaptogenesis occur after CaBP4 gene augmentation therapy

Congratulations to Dr. William Hauswirth on the publication of “Maturation of synaptic ribbons and synaptogenesis occur after CaBP4 gene augmentation therapy,” which appears in the June edition of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. Abstract Purpose : Widespread immaturity of photoreceptor synaptic ribbons has been described resulting from several genetic mutations that involve calcium…