Brittany Jane Carr, PhD

Dr. Brittany Carr’s research career is focused on understanding the cellular and molecular biology of retinal disorders, with the goal of developing targeted treatment therapies. She is a collaborative interdisciplinary scientist with expertise in neuroscience, pharmacology, and the genetic basis of disease. Dr. Carr’s doctorate research investigated pharmacological interventions for myopia (near-sightedness). She identified two novel therapeutic targets for myopia inhibition and demonstrated that off-target drug effects must be considered when studying pharmaceutical therapies in patients and animal models. Dr. Carr changed fields for her postdoctoral studies, where she learned molecular biology and genetic modification of X. laevis, to create and characterize frog models of retinal degeneration. As an assistant professor at the University of Alberta, Dr. Carr’s current research program is focused on investigating the roles of prominin-1 (PROM1), photoreceptor cadherin (CDHR1), and activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6) in photoreceptor outer segment morphogenesis and inherited and age-related retinal degeneration. She is also interested in the localization and function of polysialic acid (polysia) in the retinal Müller glia, and how modifying polysia elongation may impact retinal development and regeneration.