Ayellet Segrè Receives RPB/Glaucoma Foundation Career Advancement Award
Ayellet Segrè (Mass Eye and Ear) has been recognized with the Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB)/Glaucoma Foundation Career Advancement Award. Hundreds of common DNA variants have been found to be associated with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). The majority of these variants lie in noncoding regions and likely affect glaucoma through dysregulation of gene expression in specific ocular cell types. Ayellet, a statistical geneticist, will use a combination of single cell genomics, transcriptomics, and epigenomics to identify genetic regulatory effects in the aqueous humor outflow pathways, retina, and optic nerve head at cellular resolution. These results will be integrated with genetic associations with POAG to identify novel disease-causing genes and pathogenic cell types and propose new neuroprotective drug targets for glaucoma.