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Sue
Semple-Rowland |
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| Sue
Semple-Rowland studies the cell biology of normal and diseased retinal
photoreceptors and develops molecular-based
therapies for treatment of retinal and neural degenerative diseases. |
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Professor of Neuroscience
Director, IDP Neuroscience Graduate Program
Investigator, McKnight Brain Institute
Training
Postdoc - Department of Ophthalmology, University of Florida,
Gainesville, FL
Ph.D. Neuroscience, University of Florida
M.Sc. Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
B.A. Biology/Psychology, Gustavus
Adophus College, St. Peter, MN
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Contact
phone:
352.392.3598
office: MBI L2-181
lab: MBI L2-131, L2-163
email:rowland@mbi.ufl.edu
Semple-Rowland lab
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and cone photoreceptor cells are highly specialized retinal
cells that transduce light into neural signals that together
constitute the foundation of visual perception. Genetic mutations
that disrupt the fine-tuned biochemical machinery of these cells
underlie the vast majority of inherited retinal diseases in
humans. In my laboratory we are conducting
studies to develop an effective gene therapy for treatment of Leber congenital
amaurosis (LCA1), an inherited retinal disease that results
in blindness in newborn and young children.
We have recently restored sight to the avian model
of LCA1 using lentiviral vectors to deliver corrective gene therapy. To extend the therapeutic benefits of this treatment, we are currently developing new lentiviral vectors capable of deliverying targeted combination treatments to neural retina. Our combination treatments consist of corrective gene therapy paired with anti-apoptotic and/or neurotrophic gene therapies. We use behavioral, molecular,
biochemical, and histological techniques to study
the effects of these treatments on the visual performance and retinal disease status of treated animals. We are also collaborating with several labs to develop viral-based therapies for treatment of degenerative diseaseas of the central nervous system. |
Recent
Publications
Viral vector-mediated delivery of estrogen receptor-a to the hippocampus improves spatial learning in estrogen receptor-a knockout mice. Foster TC, Rani A, Kumar A, Cui L, Semple-Rowland SL Mol Therapy (advance online pub Jul1 2008)
Targeted expression of two proteins in neural retina using selfinactivating, insulated lentiviral vectors carrying two internal independent promoters. Semple-Rowland SL, . Eccles KS, Humberstone EJ. Mol Vision 2007; 13:2001-11 open access
Lentiviral
Expression of Retinal Guanylate Cyclase-1 (RetGC1) Restores
Vision in an Avian Model of Childhood Blindness.
Williams
M, Coleman JE, Haire SE, Aleman T, Cideciyan A, Sokal I, Palczewski
K, Jacobson, S, Semple-Rowland SL. PLoS Medicine, 2006
May 23;3(6):e201. open
access
AAV-GC1 restores light-driven cone arrestin translocation in
cones of postnatal guanylate cyclase-1 knockout mouse retina.
Haire SE, Pang J, Boye SL, Sokal I, Craft CM, Palczewski
K, Hauswirth WW, Semple-Rowland SL. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci.
2006
Sep;47(9):3745-53.
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