Frans Vinberg

RESEARCH:

Physiology and pathophysiology in the mammalian/primate retina. Calcium regulation and feedback mechanisms in photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelium cells. 

The Vinberg lab uses state-of-the-art electrophysiology (single cell and ex vivo/in vivo ERG) and Ca²⁺ imaging techniques together with basic pharmacology and molecular/cell biology tools to study fundamental molecular/cellular and disease mechanisms, mainly in the photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelium cells from mice, primates and donor human eyes. The lab is currently looking for a dissertation student and rotation students for the following projects:

• National Institutes of Health-funded project developing and using novel methods to assess the function of retinal neurons and glia from mouse to human in health and disease. See project description in Grantome.
• Homeostatic plasticity in the mammalian retina: a virtue or a villain? This project aims to understand the mechanisms of homeostatic plasticity in the retina when sensory input is reduced due to slowly degenerating photoreceptors, and how this affects visually guided behavior.
• The role of calcium extrusion mechanisms in the calcium homeostasis and physiology of retinal pigment epithelium cells.
• Dark and light adaptation in macular and peripheral photoreceptors in healthy and AMD-affected eyes.

Contact Dr. Vinberg, Frans.Vinberg@hsc.utah.edu, for more information about these projects, his laboratory or the available positions.

Learn more about Vinberg lab at http://medicine.utah.edu/ophthalmology/research/frans-vinberg-lab/

My Bibliography: