View Annual Report - Jules Stein Eye Institute

steven Nusinowitz, PhD
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
Co-Director of the Visual Physiology Laboratory
Director of the Live Imaging and
Functional Evaluation (LIFE) Core
Member of the Jules Stein Eye Institute
ReseaRch summaRy
Mechanisms of Retinal Degeneration
Dr. Nusinowitz’s primary research interest is focused on
understanding the cellular contributions to noninvasive
measures of visual function and defining the sites and
mechanisms of disease action in inherited retinal and
visual pathway disorders. His main approach to gaining
an understanding of the site and underlying mechanism
of disease action in humans is to study the patterns of
electrophysiological and psychophysical responses
obtained from mice in which the disruption of different
cells or pathways in the visual system are specifically
targeted by genetic manipulation. By comparing the
patterns of responses in human disease with the
patterns of responses from rodents with targeted
cellular disruption, Dr. Nusinowitz is able to test hypotheses
about the underlying pathophysiology in human
disease and to provide a mechanism for the development
of specific diagnostic tools that are sufficiently
sensitive for early detection and better diagnosis of
clinical disease.
Public Service
Editorial Board Service, Current Eye Research and
Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science
Grant Reviewer, Foundation Fighting Blindness and
Medical Research Council of Canada
Scientific Advisor: The Mouse Mutant Resource,
The Jackson Laboratory; Novartis Pharmaceuticals;
Allergan, Inc.; and Revision Therapeutics, Inc.
Reviewer for many scientific journals
Research Grants
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine:
Development of a Stem Cell-Based Transplantation Strategy
for Treating Age-Related Macular Degeneration (Principal
Investigator: Gabriel H. Travis, MD, with other investigators),
11/1/09–10/31/12
National Institutes of Health/National Eye Institute:
Jules Stein Eye Institute Core Grant for Vision Research,
for shared-use core facilities among investigators at
the Jules Stein Eye Institute (Module Co-Director),
3/1/10–2/28/15
UCLA/Foundation Fighting Blindness Center Grant:
Module I: Clinical Characterization and Correlation With
Molecular Genetic Studies of Individuals With Suspected
Stargardt Disease (Co-Investigator), 7/1/10–6/30/13
Research to Prevent Blindness (Unrestricted Department
Grant): Characterizing Visual Function in HIV-infected
Patients (Principal Investigator), 4/25/11–4/1/12
Faculty | Nusinowitz 57