Affiliation
Department of Ophthalmology, Ludwig-Maximilians-
Universität München
Contact
Department of Pharmacy
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Butenandtstr. 7
D-81377 Munich
and
Department of Ophthalmology
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Phone:
+49 (0)89 - 2180 -77325
Fax:
+49 (0)89 - 2180 -77326
Email:
michalakis@lmu.de
Website:
http://www.pharmacology.cup.uni-muenchen.de/michalakiss
Website:
http://www.cipsm.de
Research Focus
Establishment of in vitro retinal models for evaluation of innovative therapies
Visual information is initially decoded by the retina, a thin layer lining the inner part of the eye where a fine network of different neuronal cells performs the first extensive processing. The retina is affected by a plethora of degenerative pathologies, whose aetiology is not always fully understood. The development of in vitro systems recapitulating both the retina environment and such pathological contexts is therefore important to provide a substrate for diverse therapeutic approaches.
The Amgen scholar will be introduced to this specific field, where he/she will learn the basics of retina physiology and pathology. The scholar will be mainly in charge of establishing post-mortem retina explant cultures from diverse animal models, including mouse and human. Additionally, he/she will also contribute to the production and test of adeno-associated viruses (AAV) used for targeting specific cell types within the cultured retinas.
The overarching goal will be to establish and manipulate an in vitro retinal model for the evaluation of innovative therapeutic approaches for blinding eye disorders.