Gan Lab

Lin Gan, PhD

Lin Gan, PhD

View Gan profile

  • Dean's Professorship - Department of Dean's Office, SMD (SMD)
  • Professor - Department of Ophthalmology (SMD) - Primary Appointment
  • Professor - Department of Center for Visual Science (RC)
  • Professor - Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy (SMD)
  • PhD | Biochemistry, All Other | U Tex-Houstn Grad Sch Biomd Sc (1992)

Research Bio

The mammalian retina and inner ear are two of the most common places of genetic diseases that cause blindness and deafness due to the degeneration of retinal and inner ear neurons. In order to understand the disease processes, it is very crucial to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms regulating the normal development and maintenance of these neurons at the molecular level.

My research is centered on identifying genes required for neuron differentiation and survival, investigating the genetic pathways involved in these processes, and developing therapies for blindness and deafness via gene therapy and stem cell replacement. I am currently investigating the roles of three classes of transcription factors (TFs), the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH), POU-homeodomain (POU-HD), and LIM-domain TFs, in the formation and maintenance of mouse retina and inner ear. Using homologous recombination in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells to mutate these TF genes, I have shown that these TFs function in a cascade to regulate the differentiation of neuronal progenitor cells into specific types of neurons and to regulate the maturation and survival of post-differentiation neurons.

Recent Publications

Showing 5 of 58 journal articles.

Bjerknes M; Khandanpour C; Möröy T; Fujiyama T; Hoshino M; Klisch TJ; Ding Q; Gan L; Wang J; Martín MG; Cheng H. "Origin of the brush cell lineage in the mouse intestinal epithelium". Developmental biology. 2012; Epub 2011 Dec 13.(362): 194–218. (Cover Photograph).

Ding Q; Joshi PS; Xie ZH; Xiang M; Gan L. "BARHL2 transcription factor regulates the ipsilateral/contralateral subtype divergence in postmitotic dI1 neurons of the developing spinal cord." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2012; 109(5):1566-71. Epub 2012 Jan 17.

Feng L; Eisenstat DD; Chiba S; Ishizaki Y; Gan L; Shibasaki K. "Brn-3b inhibits generation of amacrine cells by binding to and negatively regulating DLX1/2 in developing retina". Neuroscience. 2011; 195: 9-20. (Cover Photograph).

Whitney IE; Raven MA; Ciobanu DC; Poché RA; Ding Q; Elshatory Y; Gan L; Williams RW; Reese BE. "Genetic modulation of horizontal cell number in the mouse retina." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2011; 108(23):9697-702. Epub 2011 May 16.

Deng M; Pan L; Xie X; Gan L. "Requirement for Lmo4 in the vestibular morphogenesis of mouse inner ear". Developmental Biology. 2010; 338: 38–49 (Cover Photograph).

More articles...

Contact

Lin Gan, PhD
University of Rochester
School of Medicine and Dentistry
601 Elmwood Ave., Box 659
Rochester, NY 14642

Office: (585) 273-1510
Lab: (585) 273-1513
Fax: (585) 276-2432