He is working as Associate Professor He is working as Associate Professor

he Fu lab is interested in using the visual system to study sensory transduction, protein trafficking, and the biological mechanisms underlying various types of neurodegeneration and aging. Recently, the Fu lab has made significant progress toward the understanding of two blinding diseases: Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), the most severe retinal dystrophy in early childhood, and age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the elderly. The PI has won the NEI Challenge to Identify Audacious Goals in Vision Research and Blindness Rehabilitation http://www.nei.nih.gov/challenge. A recent exciting project in the lab is to permanently correct disease-associated mutations in a patient using molecules that are specially designed to target mutated DNA sequences (such as TALEN and CRISPR) and that can be delivered safely and efficiently into the tissue. Such strategies could potentially provide the best cure or prevention for many diseases, which has the potential to forever transform healthcare. We place emphasis in Translational Research-- discovering disease mechanisms and developing innovative treatment strategies. Due to the translational nature of our research, students postdocs will have good employment opportunities in both academia and industry. With diverse research projects (from basic to translational) and sufficient funding (the lab is currently funded by two NIH R01s, there is ample opportunity for incoming students. We welcome rotation students!