Member Biography

My research focuses on the application of chemical biology approaches to problems in ocular cancer, specifically retinoblastoma and ocular neovascularization. We investigate the molecular development of retinoblastoma, in particular the role of KIF14 (an oncogene we identified) in this and other cancers. In the neovascularization context, we develop novel antiangiogenic small molecules, and we identified the proteins ferrochelatase and soluble epoxide hydrolase as targets of antiangiogenic agents and previously overlooked angiogenesis mediators. Ongoing work focuses on dissecting the role of these proteins in neovascularization, and developing new ways to target them therapeutically.