AparnaLakkaraju
PhD
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Current Organization
University of California, San Francisco
Biography
Dr. Aparna Lakkaraju received her PhD at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and completed her postdoctoral training at Cornell University’s Weill Medical College in New York City, where she was first introduced to retina and vision research. After her postdoctoral work, Dr. Lakkaraju joined the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an Assistant Professor in 2010. In 2018, the Lakkaraju lab moved to UCSF, where she is now a Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology. Research in the Lakkaraju laboratory focuses on identifying cellular mechanisms that drive vision loss in inherited and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with the goal of using this information to develop effective therapies.
Dr. Lakkaraju and her research team study the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), which performs critical functions for vision and is a key site of injury in these diseases. They investigate critical functions such as cellular clearance, mitochondrial dynamics, inflammation, and immune privilege in the RPE using high-resolution live imaging, cell, molecular and biophysical techniques, bioinformatics, and transcriptomic approaches. Their work has successfully identified promising clinically-approved drugs that can be repositioned to treat macular degeneration (U.S. Patent 10,124,008).
Grants
Grants Featuring
Aparna Lakkaraju, PhD
Macular Degeneration Research
How Does Mechanical Stress Injure the Retinal Pigment Epithelium in AMD?
Active Dates
July 01, 2021 - June 30, 2024
Principal Investigator
Aparna Lakkaraju, PhD
How Does Mechanical Stress Injure the Retinal Pigment Epithelium in AMD?
Active Dates
July 01, 2021 - June 30, 2024
Principal Investigator
Aparna Lakkaraju, PhD
Macular Degeneration Research
Uncovering the Developmental Mechanism of Chorioretinal Anastomoses
Active Dates
July 01, 2021 - December 31, 2024
Principal Investigator
Tyson Kim, MD, PhD
Uncovering the Developmental Mechanism of Chorioretinal Anastomoses
Active Dates
July 01, 2021 - December 31, 2024
Principal Investigator
Tyson Kim, MD, PhD
Macular Degeneration Research
Can RPE-Derived Exosomes Contribute to Subretinal Drusenoid Deposits?
Active Dates
July 01, 2015 - June 30, 2017
Principal Investigator
Aparna Lakkaraju, PhD
Can RPE-Derived Exosomes Contribute to Subretinal Drusenoid Deposits?
Active Dates
July 01, 2015 - June 30, 2017
Principal Investigator
Aparna Lakkaraju, PhD
Macular Degeneration Research
Apolipoprotein E and Cholesterol Lowering Drugs in Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Active Dates
April 01, 2009 - March 31, 2013
Principal Investigator
Aparna Lakkaraju, PhD
Apolipoprotein E and Cholesterol Lowering Drugs in Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Active Dates
April 01, 2009 - March 31, 2013
Principal Investigator
Aparna Lakkaraju, PhD