Vision Research

Explore our ongoing research projects that aim to unravel the mysteries of retinal diseases and develop innovative therapies to enhance vision.

Stem Cell Technology and Retinal organoid

The aim of the project to generate functional retinal organoids. New developments in retinal organoid technology provide avenues for in vitro models of human retinal diseases, studies of pathological mechanisms, and development of therapies for retinal degeneration, including electronic retinal implants and gene therapy. Moreover, these innovations have played key roles in establishing models for large-scale drug screening, studying the stages of retinal development, and providing a human model for personalized therapeutic approaches, like cell transplants to replace degenerated retinal cells.

It is shown that retinal organoids mimic early fetal-stage electrical activities, and show some signs of light responsiveness, but lack the functional characteristics of the two main retinal pathways, a shortcoming waiting to be resolved.Solutions for this shortcoming are likely to be closely related to synaptogenesis and establishment of electrical retinal pathways (Fathi M, Ross C.T. and Hosseinzadeh Z, 2021).

In order to understand the mechanisms underlying retinogenesisis and retinal organoid functionality, we culture mouse embryonic stem cells and differentiate these cells into 3D retinal organoid models based on a protocol that havedeveloped in our lab.

Disease Pathology

Learn about our efforts in using the human retina as a platform to study disease pathology, enabling us to develop novel treatments for retinal disorders.