Angiogenesis plays a major role in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases including blinding retinal diseases. Our research is currently focused on elucidating the mechanisms whereby microRNAs and chromatin factors regulate oclular angiogenesis. Our goal is to uncover novel mechanisms that angiogenesis is regulated at both developmental and disease settings, with a hope to find novel and superior therapeutics for vascular retinopathies. Two major directions in the lab are shown as below:

I. Role of microRNAs in vascular retinopathy 
MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are emerging as a novel mechanism to regulate gene expression by targeting mRNAs for cleavage or translational repression. Our previous studies have shown that miR-126 is an endothelial cell restricted miRNA regulating multiple angiogenic pathways. We are currently exploring the function of miR-126 and other miRNAs in vascular retinopathy using in vitrocell cultures and in vivo mouse genetic models. Our recent work also indicated an important regulatory role for miRNA clusters miR-23~27~24 in angiogenesis and neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We found that silencing of miR-23 and miR-27 in the eye repressed pathological angiogenesis in a laser-induced choroidal neovascularization model, a established model for neovascular AMD. Current work is focused on uncovering the mechanism that these miRNAs regulate developmental and pathological angiogenesis. Our hypothesis is that miRNAs regulate angiogensis by target multiple components of angiogenic pathways. Targeting miRNAs may represent a novel approach for anti-angiogenic therapy.

II. Transcriptional control of angiogenesis and retinal diseases 
Our previous studies and others have shown that the VEGF-PKD-HDAC axis is required for regulating angiogenesis. Currently we are trying to study the function of protein kinases and transcriptional factors in angiogenesis and retinal diseases. Simultaneously, we are testing the effects of PKD inhibitors and class II HDAC-specific inhibitors on ocular neovascularization using laser induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and retinal ischemia models.