Our lab is interested in discovering new retinal gene-phenotype associations. We aim to apply the knowledge to developing therapies for common retinal diseases.

Joined March 2023
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UfretLab retweeted
Allow us to reintroduce @WertLaboratory! 👋 This incredible team studies the neuronal cells of the retina, particularly the photoreceptor cells, and how these cell populations are impacted during retinal degenerative disease. 👁️🔬 #UTSWOphthalmology #WertLab #Retina #UTSW
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UfretLab retweeted
*BRITISH WRITER PENS THE BEST DESCRIPTION OF TRUMP* Someone asked "Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?" Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England wrote the following response: A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump's limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief. Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don't say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it's a fact. He doesn't even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty. Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn't just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness. There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It's all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don't. We see it as having no inner world, no soul. And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He's not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He's more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege. And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead. There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless or female – and he kicks them when they are down. So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think 'Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy' is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that: • Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and most are. • You don't need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man. This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss. After all, it's impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum. God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid. He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.
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First two days at ARVO have been great!
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UfretLab retweeted
An incredible day of discovery, connection, and inspiration at the Southwestern Vision Science Summit! Thank you to everyone who joined us at this inaugural event. Your expertise, curiosity, and collaborative spirit are what made SVSS possible! ✨ #utswophthalmology #utsw
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9 May 2025
Learned a lot at #ARVO2025. Proud of the whole lab… Emily and Tian presented yesterday for the first time and did a great job. Our veterans Bogale and John presented today.
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7 May 2025
#ARVO2025 is going great so far! Learning a lot and enjoying SLC! Nice run this morning. Gizem did a great job yesterday. Emily (A0304) and Tian (A0421) are presenting today.
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20 Apr 2025
Proud of our Ophthalmology Research run/walk team “Eye C the finish line” (copyright FeleciaSowels). Strong showing today at the DoNot Stop race in Irving despite the bad weather forecast. It was a lot of fun!
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14 Sep 2024
Well-deserved brunch after our lab completed the Dallas Skyline run today. We were also celebrating the publication of our recent work demonstrating a non-redundant role for Lmln in photoreceptor health (DOI: 10.1016/j.ajo.2024.08.016). @UfretLab ⁦@UTSWOphth⁩
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9 May 2024
After a nice dinner with ⁦@WANG_LAB⁩ and evening walk, we say goodbye to #ARVO2024 with Gizem’s poster describing a novel gene association to outer retinal health. ⁦@UTSWOphth⁩
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9 May 2024
Another great day at #ARVO2024. Lots of great science, awesome fish, and nice views of the city. Bogale presented his work on signaling pathways regulating retinal recovery from sublethal injury. ⁦@UTSWOphth⁩
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7 May 2024
Great ARVO so far. John (Can) did a great job with his poster. And we went for our first nice 6am run. #ARVO2024 ⁦@UTSWOphth⁩
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9 Apr 2024
Insignificantly small, yet the only living creatures who are able to fully Experience and enjoy this awe inspiring gift from nature
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8 Apr 2024
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6 Feb 2024
Here is the link to our new Scientific Reports paper: rdcu.be/dxVLs Special honors on this one go to Yesh, Bogale and Seher. But it is always a village effort!
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5 Feb 2024
Celebrating that our work on Herc3 and retinal degeneration was accepted for publication at Scientific Reports.
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22 Aug 2023
Also, congratulations to Ashwani Kumar, co-first author and thanks to Chao Xing (@BioinfoMcDermot) for all their work on this manuscript.
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22 Aug 2023
Congratulations to Bogale Aredo for his recent #IOVS publication doi.org/10.1167/iovs.64.11.2 showing recovery pathways activated in a subpopulation of Muller cells after sublethal retinal light injury.
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14 Aug 2023
Farewell and Congratulations Luncheon for our @Yeshumenesh_Z at @HGSupplies Congratulations on your new endeavors. We love you, and we will miss you! ❤️
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9 May 2023
Happy Belated Birthday Emily!
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27 Apr 2023
Before and after our nice lab morning run at #ARVO2023
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