A smiling man in a white coat and blue shirt.

Luciano C. Greig, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor

 

Retinal Development and Regeneration

The Greig lab investigates genetic regulation of cell identity acquisition in the retina to inform development of stem cell therapies for currently irreversible causes of vision loss. The retina is a complex brain structure comprised of over 50 neuron types that are tasked with detecting light and processing this raw input to begin extracting visual information. We are interested in understanding how gene regulatory networks direct neural progenitors to generate these diverse classes and subtypes of retinal neurons, and how these neurons assemble into functional neural circuits. Our second goal is to formulate therapeutic strategies to repair retinal pathology by applying these basic developmental biology insights. In particular, we aim to reprogram Müller glia into replacement retinal ganglion cells or photoreceptors. As an additional area of interest, we focus on technology development, with a particular emphasis on genetic analysis and manipulation in mice. Currently, we are developing new methods for 1) mosaic analysis to facilitate phenotypic analysis of gene function at the cellular level and for 2) tracking cells during identity reprogramming experiments to detect instances of cell fusion, material transfer, or aberrant promoter activity.

 

To Learn More:




 

Research Areas:

Diabetic Retinopathy, Macular Degeneration, Myopia, Retina or Retinal Diseases, Stem Cell Research, Visual System Development, Retina Regeneration
 
Learn more about UCSF Ophthalmology faculty research.

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Manvi Prakash Maker, MD, MS

Associate Professor

 

Diabetic Eye Care & Medical Retinal Specialist and Cataract Surgeon

Dr. Manvi P Maker is a medical retinal specialist, with specialized training from Harvard's Joslin Diabetes Institute, Beetham Eye Institute. She is an investigator for the collaborative group called the Diabetic Retiinopathy Clinical Research Network, which performs "high quality, collaborative clinical research that improves vision and quality of life for people with retinal diseases". Dr. Maker sees all patients with medical retina issues and also performs cataract surgery. Her research interest expand to include education, primarily at the ophthalmology resident level.  She has been asked to present her education research on numerous occasions, including in Tokyo at the World Ophthalmology Congress.

 

To Learn More:

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/manvi.maker
 

Research Areas:

Cataract, Diabetic Retinopathy, Retina or Retinal Diseases, Medical Retina
 
Learn more about UCSF Ophthalmology faculty research.

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Taras Litvin, PhD, OD

Optometrist

 

Management of Glaucoma and Diabetic Retinopathy

Litvin's research focuses on developing and applying novel diagnostic techniques in the management of glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, a condition in which high blood sugar damages blood vessels in the retina.

 

To Learn More:

https://www.ucsfhealth.org/providers/dr-taras-litvin


 

Research Areas:

Diabetic Retinopathy, Glaucoma, Retina or Retinal Diseases
 
Learn more about UCSF Ophthalmology faculty research.

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