Brown Lab
Principal Investigator: Nadean L Brown
Institution: University of California, Davis (Davis, CA)
Primary Subfield: Neuroscience
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
Project Summary This proposal investigates the underlying causes of human ocular disorders using complex in vivo conditional (cre-lox) mouse genetics, histology, immunohistochemistry, confocal microscopy, electron microscopy, small animal ocular imaging (OCT, SLO), along with flow cytometry coupled with single-cell NEXTgen sequencing and bioinformatics. We aim to understand basic, mechanistic questions about the multiple functions of Pax2-expressing astrocytes in the postnatal eye, including during retinal vasculature outgrowth and homeostasis. We will also investigate the requirements for Pax2+ astrocytes relative to optic nerve RGC axon health, and the myelination of these axons by oligodendrocytes. In both aims we will take advantage of a Dct-Cre transgenic driver that induces postnatal Pax2 conditional phenotypes, without embryonic ocular coloboma malformations. Proposed experiments will study retinal and optic nerve astrocytes during postnatal development and adulthood. Incorporation of a Pax2- GFP knock-in mouse allele in our experiments will facilitate the isolation of control and Dct- Cre;Pax2 mutant lineage cells for molecular profiling. These outcomes will contribute new…
Active NIH Awards
- 1R01EY038806-01: Pax2 functions in postnatal retinal and optic nerve astrocytes (2026)
- 5R01EY033729-04: Optic Stalk-Disc Development and Differentiation (2025)
- 5R01EY033729-03: Optic Stalk-Disc Development and Differentiation (2024)
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