Ana
Chucair-Elliott

I received my PhD degree in Biochemistry from the Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS, Argentina) on molecular mechanisms of neuroprotection in the retina with much of the research being performed at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC), under the guidance of Dr. John Ash. For post-doctoral training, I joined Dr. Daniel Carr’s research group to study the consequences of HSV-1 ocular infection both in neural progenitor cells in the brain and in the corneal surface. Later, as staff scientist in Dr. Bill Freeman’s group (Genes & Human Disease Research program, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation), I focused my contributions to the field of neuroepigenetics and transcriptomics with aging, relevant aspects to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) since aging is the major driver to the disease. As an assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at OUHSC, I plan to apply my overall knowledge and expertise in vision research to investigate DNA methylation and chromatin accessibility in relationship to gene expression specifically in the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE). Expanding on this interest, with the support of the BrightFocus Foundation, I plan to study the role of microglia/macrophages in the degenerative processes of the RPE in response to aging and diet. Collectively, my research interests are aimed to address critical knowledge gaps that are relevant to the design of better therapies to treat retinal diseases, such as AMD.