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van der Spuy Lab
Our aim is to understand the molecular basis of and develop treatments for inherited retinal degeneration (IRD). We use patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) to model IRD by differentiating the iPSC to different tissues of the eye, including retinal pigment epithelium and three-dimensional organoids of the neurosensory retina. These cellular models recapitulate the disease phenotype and are therefore used to understand the molecular basis of disease and the pathways affected and to develop and test appropriate therapeutic strategies targeting the disease mechanisms or pathways. Disease-specific therapeutic strategies under investigation include RNA-directed therapies (antisense oligonucleotide technologies, translational readthrough inducing drugs), gene replacement therapies and gene editing technologies for direct repair of disease-causing mutations.
- People
Principal Investigator
Current lab members
Dr Amy Leung
Dr Erika Aguzzi
Dr Bethany Ollington
Olivia Rezek
Previous lab members
Dr Hali Sai
Beatriz Sanchez Pintado
Dr Pedro Perdigao
Dr Almudena Sacristan-Reviriego
Dr James Bellingham
Dr John Bett
Dr Juan Hidalgo-de-Quintana
Dr Rosellina Guarascio
Dr Emma Richet
Dr Hoang Mai Le
Victoria Frewin
Angela Tait
Rowan Searle
- Contact us
Professor Jacqueline van der Spuy
Email: j.spuy@ucl.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)20 7608 6910Find us
We are based at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, 11-43 Bath Street London EC1V 9EL.