The Nair Lab
Studying the genetics and biology of ocular diseases
People
Saidas Nair, PhD
Sai received his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Mumbai, India. During his PhD, Sai studied the role of cell surface receptors in regulation of neutrophil effector functions. He was trained in Dr. Simon John’s laboratory at The Jackson Laboratory. He worked extensively on characterizing both spontaneous and chemically induced mouse mutants that recapitulate features of human glaucoma. He has identified genes contributing to glaucoma, generated new mouse models of human glaucoma and has utilized them to gain insight into the underlying pathological causes of the disease. His research utilizes a multi-disciplinary approach by integrating the use of animal models, genetics, genomics, molecular biology, cell-biology and physiology based experiments to gain mechanistic insight into disease pathogenesis.
Cassandra Labelle –Dumais, PhD
Research Scientist
Cass received her PhD from McGill University, where her research focus was in the area of Development and Reproductive biology. Her postdoctoral training was in Dr. Flores Laboratory at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, where her work focused on understanding how perturbations in developmental molecular processes can modulate the organization of the neuronal circuitry and influence susceptibility to neurobehavioral disorders. Subsequently she joined the laboratory where she studies how genetic alterations of basement membrane components leads to diseases. In Nair lab, Cass’s major interest is to understand factors contributing to ocular growth and refractive development.
Gerardo Medina
Administrative Assistant
Gerardo has an extensive background in administrative and operations support in the nonprofit sector including immigration, substance abuse, legal assistance and philanthropy. He is currently seeking his MFA in Consciousness and Writing at CIIS in San Francisco. His writing emphasis is in fairy tales and fables that are inspired through his observations in nature and with his practice in yoga and the fiber arts.
Durairaj Duraikannu
Postdoctoral Associate
Durairaj received his PhD degree from Anna University, Chennai, India. During his PhD, he investigated the inflammatory machinery in glial cells. He also studied the role of miRNAs in the development of ocular inflammation in HIV patients. Here, Durairaj is analysing the molecular binding partners of PRSS56 to find the target chemical inhibitors in the aspect of myopia therapeutics. He also works in the glaucoma mouse models to characterize the molecular and genetics basis of the disease development.
Kiran Gangappa
Postdoctoral Associate
Kiran Gangappa earned his Ph.D. from University of Mysore, Mysuru, Karnataka, India. During his Ph.D., Kiran has evaluated the structure-function relationship of liver glycosaminoglycans (specially heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate/dermatan sulfate) over clearance of circulating cholesterol rich lipoproteins in hypercholesterolemic milieu and the health beneficial role of dietary interventions like oat bran and curcumin in modulating diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in experimental rats. Before moving to UCSF, Kiran has worked as a Postdoc at Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India where he worked on infectious disease Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In Nair’s lab at UCSF, Kiran is characterizing important genetic animal models to study ocular diseases like Myopia and Glaucoma relevant phenotypes. He is exploring the effect of gene PRSS56 on ocular axial growth by modulating its expression using conditional knockout mice in context of Myopia. He is also testing certain drug candidates to control myopia in genetic models. Kiran is also evaluating the role of gene GLIS1 in developing Glaucoma mice model to unravel the onset and mechanistic insights of Glaucoma pathophysiology.
Emre Uludag
Staff Research Associate
Emre graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology, with an emphasis in Medical Biology and Physiology. During his undergraduate studies, he gained extensive research experience investigating how transcription regulators influence the molecular trajectory of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) as it navigates the nucleosome barrier. His work specifically focused on the molecular mechanisms by which the histone chaperone FACT (FAcilitates Chromatin Transcription) contributes to this process. Currently, his research in Nair’s lab explores the therapeutic potential of inhibiting PRSS56, a gene implicated in myopia pathogenesis, as a strategy to slow ocular axial elongation. Outside of the lab, Emre enjoys working out, playing soccer, and going on ski trips.
Lab Alumni
- Swanand Koli – Post doc
- Yin Zhao – Visiting scholar
- Vivian Chi – SRA
- Hassan Paylakhi, PhD – Senior Scientist, Bio Marin, Bay Area, California
- Reshmi Prasad, PhD – Senior Scientist, SQZ Biotech, Boston
- Yusuf Seyman – Associate Scientist, Genentech, Bay Area, California