View Annual Report - Jules Stein Eye Institute

antoni Ribas, mD
Professor of Medicine, Surgery, and Molecular and
Medical Pharmacology
Member of the Jules Stein Eye Institute
ReseaRch summaRy
The Immune System and
Oncogene-Targeted Therapies
in the Treatment of Cancer
Dr. Antoni Ribas conducts research focused on melanoma,
an aggressive form of skin and eye cancer. His
research aims at developing more effective and less
toxic therapies for patients with advanced melanoma
by studying how the immune system can be effectively
used to fight cancer and also how targeted therapies
can specifically block cancer genes. His projects include
laboratory and clinical translational research in adoptive
cell transfer therapy using T-cell receptor engineered
lymphocytes designed to seek out melanoma cells, with
the application of molecular imaging and advanced
monitoring of the immune system to better study how
it can fight cancer. Another way to engage an anticancer
immune response is through the use of immune
modulating antibodies, in particular by releasing the
immune breaks CTLA4 and PD-1. He is also testing,
both in the laboratory and the clinic, novel targeted
therapies blocking cancer-causing events that result in
melanoma, as well as the potential clinical applications
of nanoparticle delivery of siRNA, which interferes with
gene expression related to cancer. Dr. Ribas’ goal is to
bring new concepts from the laboratory to the clinic to
help patients with advanced melanoma.
Dario L. Ringach, PhD
Professor of Neurobiology and Psychology,
Biomedical Engineering Program
Member of the Jules Stein Eye Institute
ReseaRch summaRy
Visual Perception and Neurophysiology
Dr. Ringach’s research focuses on the relationship
between eye movements and visual perception, as well
as how motor planning and execution, such as reaching,
grasping, navigating, and adjusting body posture, is
influenced by visual information and impaired vision.
In collaboration with a team of neurosurgeons at UCLA,
Dr. Ringach’s laboratory is also recording the brain
activity of patients with epilepsy who are undergoing
clinical evaluation for surgical treatment. This unique
opportunity is shedding new light into the processes
involved in object recognition and perception.
Guido a. Zampighi, PhD
Professor of Neurobiology
Member of the Jules Stein Eye Institute
ReseaRch summaRy
Intercellular Junctions
and Communication
A fundamental property of cells organized in tissues is
their ability to communicate with each other via highly
specialized areas of plasma membrane contact, called
junctions. Dr. Zampighi is studying the gap junction and
the chemical synapse, two specialized junctions that
mediate electrical and chemical transmission, respectively.
The gap junction is composed of specialized
channels containing small hydrophilic pores that span
the two plasma membranes and the intervening
extracellular space (the cell-to-cell channel). He is
investigating the high-resolution structure of the
channels as well as the mechanisms of assembly,
insertion, and retrieval of the connexin proteins that
form them. The chemical synapse is composed of a
presynaptic neuron filled with small diameter vesicles
that contain a high concentration of neurotransmitters
and a postsynaptic neuron with receptors. He is study-
ing the mechanisms by which the synaptic vesicles
attach (“dock”) to the presynaptic membrane. He uses
structural (electron microscopy), biochemical, and
electrophysiological techniques in an attempt to identify,
purify, and characterize the channels and transporters of
both junctions in an effort to increase understanding of
the mechanisms mediating cell communication.
Faculty 69