MD Imam Uddin, PhD

Dr. Uddin is a new investigator and a primary Faculty member in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee. His long-term goal is to develop novel nanoconjugates for targeted delivery, treatment and imaging vascular diseases, primarily neovascular or “wet” AMD. Dr. Uddin is a chemist and bioengineer by training, with expertise in the development of molecularly targeted imaging and therapeutic agents for ocular disease. He has authored several publications in the field of targeted delivery with therapeutic applications, holds several patents related to this area of research, and is actively engaged in research toward clinical translation of these new technologies. In 2017, Dr. Uddin developed the novel AS-ENG-hAuNP nanoconjugate for controlled delivery of endoglin mRNA targeted therapeutics in ocular tissues and capable of silencing specific mRNA target in neovascular tissues. He will utilize this novel nanotechnology in the proposed study to treat endogenous mRNA in choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in an animal model of LCNV. Dr. Uddin’s research is funded through a career development award from Knights Templar Eye Foundation, and research Grant from National Institute of Health- NIDDK sponsored MICROMouse Program (MMPC) and two National Institute of Health R01 Grants (Uddin, PI).