Preeti
Subramanian, PhD

Contact: psubramanian@brightfocus.org

Preeti Subramanian, PhD, oversees the Macular Degeneration Research and National Glaucoma Research programs at BrightFocus Foundation. She ensures a high level of scientific accountability within the BrightFocus award programs and engages and maintains a strong relationship with the scientific community.

Before joining BrightFocus, Dr. Subramanian was a research scientist at the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the NIH for 10+ years. Dr. Subramanian received her PhD in Biochemistry from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, identifying a novel role for bioactive sphingolipid ceramide 1 phosphate (C1P) in mediating inflammation.

She completed her postdoctoral training at the NEI, performing investigations on pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), an ocular protein with neurotrophic activity. She continued her research in vision science at the NEI, identifying and studying potential therapeutic agents for diseases involving RPE oxidative stress (e.g., age-related macular degeneration).

Dr. Subramanian has published peer-reviewed articles in prestigious archival journals including the Journal of Biological Chemistry and Investigative Ophthalmology of Visual Science.

Education & Training
PhD, Biochemistry | Virginia Commonwealth University
Master of Science, Biochemistry | Mumbai University, India
Bachelor of Science, Chemistry | Mumbai University, India

Community Involvement
Member, Diversity Initiative Committee and the Women in Eye and Vision Research Leadership Committee, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)

Research & Selected Publications

Common features of neurodegenerative disease: exploring the brain-eye connection and beyond (part 1): the 2021 pre-symposium of the 15th international conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases
Rossi, S.L., Subramanian P., Bu, G., Di Polo A., Golde T.E., Bovenkamp, D.E. (2022). Molecular Neurodegeneration, 17(1), 68.

Common features of neurodegenerative disease: exploring the brain-eye connection and beyond (part 2): the 2021 pre-symposium of the 15th international conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases
Rossi, S.L., Subramanian P., Bu, G., Di Polo A., Golde T.E., Bovenkamp, D.E. (2022). Molecular Neurodegeneration, 17(1), 69.

Consensus Recommendation for Mouse Models of Ocular Hypertension to Study Aqueous Humor Outflow and Its Mechanisms
McDowell, C.M., Kizhatil, K., Elliott, M.H., Overby, D.R., van Batenburg-Sherwood, J., Millar, J.C., Kuehn, M.H., Zode, G., Acott, T.S., Anderson, M.G., Bhattacharya, S.K., Bertrand, J.A., Borras, T., Bovenkamp, D.E., Cheng, L., Danias, J., De Ieso, M.L., Du Y., Faralli, J.A., Fuchshofer R., Ganapathy, P.S., Gong H., Herberg, S., Hernandez, H., Humphries, P., John, S.W.M., Kaufman, P.L., Keller, K.E., Kelley, M.J., Kelly, R.A., Krizaj, D., Kumar, A., Leonard, B.C., Lieberman R.L., Liton, P., Liu, P., Liu, K.C., Lopez, N.N., Mao, W., Mavlyutov, T., McDonnell, F., McLellan, G.J., Mzyk, P., Nartey, A., Pasquale, L.R., Patel, G.C., Pattabiraman, P.P., Peters, D.M., Raghunathan, V., Rao, P.V., Rayana, N., Raychaudhuri, U., Reina-Torres, E., Ren, R., Rhee, D., Chowdhury, U.R., Samples, J.R., Samples, E.G., Sharif, N., Schuman, J.S., Sheffield, V.C., Stevenson, C.H., Soundararajan, A., Subramanian, P., Sugali, C.K., Sun, Y., Toris, C.B., Torrejon, K.Y., Vahabikashi, A., Vranka, J.A., Wang, T., Willoughby, C.E., Xin, C., Yun, H., Zhang, H.F., Fautsch, M.P., Tamm, E.R., Clark, A.F., Ethier, C.R., Stamer, W.D. (2022). Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 63(2) 12. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.63.2.12

Solving neurodegeneration: common mechanisms and strategies for new treatments
Wareham, L.K., Liddelow, S.A., Temple, S., Benowitz, L.I., Di Polo, A., Wellington, C., Goldberg, J.L., He, Z., Duan, X., Bu, G., Davis, A.A., Shekhar, K., La Torre, A., Chan, D.C., Canto-Soler, M.V., Flanagan, J.G., Subramanian, P., Rossi, S., Brunner, T., Bovenkamp, D.E. & Calkins, D.J. (2022). Molecular Neurodegeneration, 17, Article number: 23 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13024-022-00524-0

PEDF peptides promote photoreceptor survival in rd10 retina models

Hernández-Pinto A., Polato F., Subramanian P., de la Rocha-Muñoz A., Vitale S., de la Rosa E., Becerra S.P. (2019). Experimental Eye Research, 184, 24–29.

Pigment epithelium-derived factor hinders photoreceptor cell death by reducing intracellular calcium in the degenerating retina
Comitato A., Subramanian P., Turchiano G., et al. (2018). Cell Death & Disease, 9, 560.

Comparison of two neurotrophic serpins reveals a small fragment with cell survival activity
Winokur, P., Subramanian P., Bullock J., Arocas, V., Becerra S.P. (2017). Molecular Vision, 23, 372–384.

A Novel Inhibitor of 5-Lipoxygenase (5-LOX) prevents Oxidative Stress-induced Cell Death of Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE) Cells
Subramanian, P., Mendez, E., Becerra S.P (2016). Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 57(11), 4581–8.

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ORCID
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