NOV-2025
WELCOME NEW POSTDOC DR. SOUMAYA BELHADJ
We are happy to announce that Dr. Soumaya Belhadj, PhD, has joined the team at the Telias Lab to investigate the mechanisms of Retinoic Acid-dependent remodeling of Retinal Ganglion Cells' dendritic arbors during photoreceptor degeneration, using AO-SLO, in collaboration with the Schallek Lab at FEI & CVS.
Dr. Belhadj has a prior experience as a postdoctoral researcher using AO-SLO in non-human primates to conduct pioneering work under the supervision of Dr. Juliette McGregor, transplanting stem-cell derived photoreceptors to restore vision in the fovea.
Welcome to the team!
AUG-2025
GUEST LECTURE BY
SUPRAJA VARADARAJAN
Our third and final guest speaker for the 2025 edition of "Hot Summer Journal Club" will be Dr. Supraja Varadarajan, Ph.D., from the Dept. of Neuroscience at University of Texas Southwestern, who will be speaking about The Role of Retinoreceipient Neuronal Activity in Promoting Retinal Ganglion Cell Axon Regeneration.
Sponsored by the Flaum Eye Institute
and the Center for Visual Science.
WATCH THE LECTURE HERE:
JUL-2025
GUEST LECTURE BY
RYOJI AMAMOTO
Our second special guest of the 2025 edition of "Hot Summer Journal Club" will be Dr. Ryoji Amamoto, Ph.D., from Mass. Eye & Ear at Harvard Medical School, who will be discussing secondary degeneration of cones in Retinitis Pigmentosa and the role of Retinoic-Acid signaling. Log in and join us online, or watch on our YouTube channel.
Sponsored by the Flaum Eye Institute
and the Center for Visual Science.
WATCH THE LECTURE HERE:
JUN-2025
GUEST LECTURE BY ZHENG JIANG
To kick off the 2025 edition of "Hot Summer Journal Club", we will host Dr. Zheng Jiang, Ph.D., from the Dept. of Ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine, who will talk about decoding the informational output of retinal ganglion cells using high-density microelectrode arrays. Log in and join us online, or watch on our YouTube channel.
Sponsored by the Flaum Eye Institute
and the Center for Visual Science.
WATCH THE LECTURE HERE:
MAY-2025
RETINAL THERAPEUTICS INNOVATION SUMMIT - Salt Lake City, UT
We had the pleasure and privilege of addressing patients, physicians and researchers during the awesome Annual Retinal Therapeutics Innovation Summit organized by Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Casey Eye Institute. Sharing the past of Disulfiram and the future of exciting new technologies to boost vision in progressive blindness.
APR-2025
ALAN ABRAHAM, MASTER OF SCIENCE
Stellar student Alan Abraham, who has won multiple awards, grants and honors, and already had a paper published before finishing his thesis, succesfully defended his Master's dissertation at the Dept. of Pharmacology and Physiology, with the admiration of the referees for the excellence of his work in our lab. Alan: we are proud of you, way to go! We all know your PhD work will be even better!
APR-2025
POSTIGO-TELIAS COLLABORATION IN THE NEWS
Our pioneering collaboration and the generous grant by the John Templeton Foundation is already in the news. Read all about it here! We aim to revolutionize the scientific understanding on how neurons behave, at the photonic level!
APR-2025
HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM - HADASSAH MEDICAL CENTER
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APR-2025
TEL AVIV MEDICAL CENTER
Dr. Telias delivers talk at Sourasky Tel Aviv Medical Center, hosted by Prof. Dalit Ben-Yosef, on April 9th at 7:15 AM, Sammy Ofer Auditorium. The talk details the path from bench to bedside for disulfiram to improve vision in low-vision patients. Thank you to all the great staff, researchers and physicians at "Ichilov", Tel Aviv's biggest medical center.
APR-2025
BAR-ILAN UNIVERSITY TALK
Dr. Telias delivers talk at Bar Ilan's School of Optometry, hosted by Prof. Yossi Mandel, on April 8th at 2:30 PM, Bldg 206, 9th floor. The talk focused on inner retinal remodeling, myopia and survival of retinal ganglion cells in progressive blindness, and the multifaceted roles of Retinoic Acid signaling (a recording is available on Bar-Ilan University's YouTube channel).
FEB-2025
NEI R01 AWARD
We are excited to announce that we received a 5-year R01 Award by the National Eye Institute/National Institute of Health (R01 EY036020-01A1)
FEB-2025
ARVO Advocacy Day
Dr. Telias represented the Flaum Eye Institute and the University of Rochester at the 2025 edition of ARVO Advocacy Day in Capitol Hill, D.C., co-sponsored by NAEVR. Meetings included NYS Senators Gillibrand and Schumer, and Monroe County Representative Joe Morell.
JAN-2025
Invited Speaker:
"An inconvinient truth"
Dr. Telias delivers a seminar talk on pathophysiological remodeling of the inner retina during photoreceptor loss and the future of vision restoration techniques, at the Department of Translational Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, in Lubbock, TX. Thank you Prof. Josh Lawrence for this incredible opportunity to visit TTU and meet with extraordinary researchers and colleagues.
DEC-2024
Dr. Leonor Afrima Awarded CABIN Pilot Grant
Dr. Leonor Afrima has been awarded the CABIN Pilot Grant to study functional and structural changes in the brain of mice with photoreceptor loss, and to test whether these changes can be mitigated by targeting P2X7 receptor in the retina.
OCT-2024
David Burdick Philanthropic Gift
The Telias Lab is greatful to Mr. David Burdick for his generous gift. This donation will help our effort in developing new therapeutic strategies to inhibit retinal ganglion cell hyperactivity and improve vision.
10-24-2024
POSTIGO AND TELIAS LAB RECEIVE TEMPLETON AWARD
Co-PIs Dr. Pablo Postigo and Dr. Michael Telias receive the prestigious Templeton Award to advance our understanding of light propagation. The award of more than $1.5M will fund innovative and unorthodox research to understand whether neurons can communicate using light. The project combines the nanophotonic technologies developed by Pablo Postigo and the electrophysiology and neuronal culture capabilities of the Telias Lab.
Society for Neuroscience, Chicago 2024
A.K. Abraham, L. Afrima, M. Telias. Expression of receptor tyrosine kinases in the ganglion cells of degenerated retinas. (PSTR343.14)
Clinical trial update September 2024
Two independent clinical trials/studies have been registered on Clinicaltrials.gov, announcing they plan to test the effects of treatment with disulfiram on visual acuity and visual function of patients with photoreceptor loss.
The clinical study led by Dr. Debarshi Mustafi from the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA) will be a cross-over randomized control trial to evaluate disulfiram in improving retinal sensitivity, in patients with inherited retinal degeneration (such as retinitis pigmentosa). More details on this clinical trial can be found here.
The clinical study led by Dr. Alex Levin from the Flaum Eye Institute at the University of Rochester (Rochester, NY) will be an open-label trial testing changes in visual acuity before, during and after use of disulfiram; in patients comorbidly diagnosed with alcohol abuse disorder and retinal degeneration. The details on that study can be found here.
Recent e-phys modalities - 2024
June/July/August-2024
During the summer of 2024, the lab is hosting a series of three special journal clubs by three young investigators.
June 20, 2024: Dr. Levi Todd PhD, SUNY Upstate
July 24, 2024: Dr. Frans Vinberg PhD, U. of Utah
06-28-2024
DR TELIAS INTERVIEWED FOR "EYE ON THE CURE"
05-08-2024
Dr. Michael Telias and Dr. Leonor Afrima represented the lab during ARVO 2024 in Seattle. Two studies were presented:
04-19-2024
DR AFRIMA PRESENTS HER WORK
Dr. Leonor Afrima, Postdoc Associate at the Telias Lab, presented her work in a poster during the 2024 Annual Retreat of the Neuroscience Graduate Program at the beautiful Memorial Art Gallery.
08-11-2023
THE LAB GOES KAYAKING
We all got together to enjoy the summer, do some kayaking, lunch and ice cream. What a magnificent day in Fairport and the Erie Canal.
07-10-2023
DR TELIAS CO-AWARDED TWO CVS PILOT FUNDS
The inaugural edition of the CVS Pilot Funds for Vision Research granted two out of three awards to the Telias Lab. The first, in collaboration with the Briggs Lab, will study the effects of retinal hyperactivity in the brain of mice with retinal degeneration; and the second, in collaboration with the Marcos Lab, will study the role of retinoic acid signaling in refractive error and myopia in mice.
04-30-2023
BME SENIOR DESIGN PROJECT
The Senior Design Project presentation showcasing the innate light-avoidance apparatus custom-made for the Telias Lab by an excellent team of BioMedical Engineering undergraduates.
04-14-2023
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH EXPO '23
Alan Abraham and Emma Evereth presented their work in this years Research Expo!
02-10-2023
DR TELIAS DELIVERS TALK IN SPAIN
Dr. Telias was invited by Dr. Vinas-Pena from the Institute of Optics CSIC to deliver a talk in their campus, in Madrid, Spain. The lecture focused on the molecular and physiological mechanisms of RGC hyperactivity in photoreceptor degeneration, with a focus on MEA and 2-photon imaging of mouse retina ex-vivo.
10-20-2022
The choreography of development is a delicate dance. Beginning in utero, chromosomes, DNA, genes and RNA twirl, tap, and sashay their way in a precise pattern. A misstep or a missing step that changes the routine causes body and brain functions to go awry – as is the case with many intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Fragile X syndrome is the most common known single-gene cause of inherited IDDs, including autism. Scientists know the misstep in this syndrome is in the gene FMR1. FMR1 is responsible for making the protein FMRP, which is necessary for typical brain development.
09-21-2022
EMERGING VISION SCIENTISTS DAY NAEVR/AEVR
Dr. Michael Telias was invited to participate in the Emerging Vision Scientists Day, organized by the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research. Over the course of 2 days, more than 20 young scientists investigating eye and vision diseases, came to Washington D.C. to ask Congress to increase funding for the National Eye Institute.
08-28-2022
The Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience & the Schmitt Foundation have awarded the Telias lab the Pilot Project Program Grant, which will be used to study whether blockade of purinergic signaling in retinal ganglion cells can rescue the effects of remodeling, caused by retinal degeneration in mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa and photo-toxicity. Read more about the Schmitt Program on Integrative Neuroscience (SPIN).
04-18-2022
The Schwartz Undergraduate Research Fund awarded Mr. Alan Abraham the Discover Grant to spend the summer at the Telias Lab researching the molecular mechanisms of inner retinal remodeling in mice with inherited photoreceptor dystrophy. Alan's project focuses on the role of Tyrosine Kinase Receptors in retinal ganglion cells undergoing remodeling.
3-21-2022
DISULFIRAM TREATMENT FOR VISION IMPROVEMENT
