Ocular Genomics
243 Charles Street Boston, MA 02114 Contact us
Diagnostic Testing
Support our research
Explore our labs
Ocular Genomics MENU
Ocular Genomics
  • Meet the Team
  • Services
    • Biobank Core Services
    • Bioinformatics and Statistics Core
    • Functional Genomics (Zebrafish) Core
    • Gene Transfer Vector
      • Rates
      • Order Information
      • Contact Us
    • Genetic Diagnostic Testing Service
      • Pricing
    • Genomics Core Services
      • Additional Genomics Services
      • Sanger Sequencing
      • Array Analysis
      • Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)
  • Labs
    • Biobank Core
    • Bujakowska Lab
      • Lab Members
      • Publications
    • Comander Lab
      • Lab Members
      • Publications
    • Engle Lab
      • Lab Members
    • Fernandez-Godino Lab
      • Lab Members
      • Macular Degeneration
      • Publications
    • Functional Genomics Core (Zebrafish Facility)
      • Lab Members
    • Genetic Counseling Team
      • Team Members
    • Genomics Core Lab
      • Lab Members
    • Liu Lab
      • Lab Members
      • Publications
      • Projects
    • MEEI Bioinformatics Center (MBC)
      • Lab Members
    • Pierce Lab
      • Lab Members
      • Publications
      • Projects
    • Segrè Lab
      • Selected Publications
    • Vandenberghe Lab
      • Lab Members
    • Wiggs Lab
      • Lab Members
  • News & Publications
    • RETINAL Transcriptome
  • Affiliates
  • Careers
  • Home
  • Labs
  • Liu Lab
  • Lab Members

LABS

  • Biobank Core
  • Bujakowska Lab
    • Lab Members
    • Publications
  • Comander Lab
    • Lab Members
    • Publications
  • Engle Lab
    • Lab Members
  • Fernandez-Godino Lab
    • Lab Members
    • Publications
    • Macular Degeneration
  • Functional Genomics Core (Zebrafish Facility)
    • Lab Members
  • Genetic Counseling Team
    • Team Members
  • Genomics Core Lab
    • Lab Members
  • Liu Lab
    • Lab Members
    • Publications
    • Projects
      • Retinitis Pigmentosa 1
      • Genome editing for dominant IRDs
      • Genome editing for USH2A associated IRD
  • MEEI Bioinformatics Center (MBC)
    • Lab Members
  • Pierce Lab
    • Lab Members
    • Publications
    • Projects
      • Retinal Degeneration Disease Gene Discovery
      • NMNAT1 Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA)
      • Novel Photoreceptor Sensory Cilia Proteins
      • RNA Splicing Factor Retinitis Pigmentosa/Transcriptome Analyses
      • Pericentral Retinitis Pigmentosa
      • High-throughput Functional Studies of Sequence Variants
  • Segrè Lab
    • Selected Publications
    • Lab Members
  • Vandenberghe Lab
    • Lab Members
  • Wiggs Lab
    • Lab Members
Lab Members

Dr. Qin Liu Assistant Professor in Ophthalmology qin_liu@meei.harvard.edu
Liu Lab
Assistant Professor in Ophthalmology

Dr. Liu was a trained Ophthalmologist and received her PhD on Molecular Ophthalmology from Peking Union Medical College in Beijing, China. Dr. Liu did her postdoctoral training at the F.M. Kirby Center for Molecular Ophthalmology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Liu’s previous research was focused on improving the understanding of the genetic causes and the molecular bases of inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) using a combination of genetically modified animal models and molecular biologic approaches. Her work on photoreceptor sensory cilium and retinitis pigmentosa 1 laid the groundwork for many studies to follow. Her research program is dedicated to gain a better understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying IRDs and related ciliopathies, and to overcome hurdles of conventional AAV-mediated gene augmentation therapy for treating dominant IRDs and recessive IRDs that are caused by mutations in large genes. Her recent studies on the development of CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing strategies provide a start point for facilitating translation of therapeutic gene editing programs into IRD therapies in human.

qin_liu@meei.harvard.edu
Rossano Butcher Research Technologist Rossano_Butcher@meei.harvard.edu
Liu Lab
Research Technologist

Rossano Butcher graduated from the CAS Honors Program at Suffolk University in 2015, with a Bachelors degree in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. He worked alongside Dr. Lauren Nolf-Clemets, providing evidence of the Island Rule and microevolution in white-footed mice (Peromyscusleucopus) in the harbor islands off of Boston; and was also involved in Dr. Melanie Berkmen’s novel research on fumarase deficiency, utilizing site-directed mutagenesis to make gene mutations. Most recently, Rossano has been involved in abroad volunteer programs as a medical and laboratory assistant, in places such as Vietnam and Peru.
Rossano joined the Ocular Genomics Institute in April of 2017 as research technologist for Dr. Qin Liu.

Contact Information:

Rossano_Butcher@meei.harvard.edu
Dr. Caitlin Collin Research Fellow Caitlin_Collin@MEEI.HARVARD.EDU
Liu Lab
Research Fellow

Dr. Caitlin Collin earned her Ph.D in developmental biology at the Danish Stem Cell Institute (University of Copenhagen, Denmark), studying how Notch signaling regulates pancreatic development. Caitlin joined the OGI as a postdoctoral researcher in 2017, and now focuses on developing gene therapies for RP1-associated Retinitis Pigmentosa. This disease is not amenable to traditional gene augmentation therapy, due to the large size of the RP1 gene, its dominant inheritance, and its requirement for tight regulation of expression levels. Thus, Dr Collin is exploring multiple therapeutic approaches in collaboration with industry, including novel viral and non-viral delivery methods, CRISPR-Cas based gene editing, and oligonucleotide-based gene editing. This work will also lay the foundation for applications in other IRDs caused by mutations in large genes.

In 2020, Dr Collin was the grateful recipient of the Career Starter Grant from the Knights Templar Eye Foundation, for the development of Base Editing and Prime Editing approaches for ABCA4 associated Stargardt disease.

Caitlin_Collin@MEEI.HARVARD.EDU

Featured:

Contact Us

243 Charles Street
Boston, MA 02114

Labs

  • Engle Lab
  • Pierce Lab
  • Vandenberghe Lab
  • Wiggs Lab
  • Genomics Core Lab
  • Functional Genomics Core (Zebrafish Facility)
  • MEEI Bioinformatics Center (MBC)

Sitemap

  • Affiliates
  • Careers
  • Meet the Team
  • News & publications
  • Support Our Research
  • Services
  • Privacy
website-boston WebsiteBoston