Dr Ayyagari’s research focuses on understanding the molecular and genetic causes of vision threatening diseases. The main goal is to gain mechanistic understanding of inherited retinal and other ocular pathologies in order to develop and test new treatments to prevent blindness.
Her laboratory employs state-of the art genomics with bioinformatics, patient stem cell modeling, genome editing of cell culture and animal models to functionally confirm potential disease causing genes and pathways. Her team has now performed whole genome and exome sequencing of several thousand patients and generated stem cell and mouse models that enabled the discovery of novel disease causing genes. The disease models were used to test small molecule and gene based therapies.
The lab’s current projects include a long-term study to describe the genomic architecture of patient DNA, transcriptome and proteome profiles of patient derived stem cell and animal models. These studies aim to identify non-coding and coding variants, modifiersand biomarkers associated with disease processes for diagnosis and predictive modeling. Additional studies include identification of therapeutic targets and evaluation of small molecule, gene and stem cell based therapies using model systems.
Radha Ayyagari, PhD
Associate Professor
9415 Campus Point Dr
Jacobs Retina Center Rm. 227
La Jolla, CA 92093
Tel: 858-534-5362
Fax: 858-246-0568
