Excited to share our new #singlecell paper on choroidal #endothelial_cells and #macrophages in human eyes with/without #macular_degeneration! All data available at GEO and https://singlecell-eye.org.

Dr. Mullins's work was recently recognized at a ceremony at the Carver College of Medicine. This ceremony honored scientists with an h-index of 50 or more, meaning that at least 50 of their publications have been cited at least 50 times each.

https://medicine.uiowa.edu/celebrate-carver-college-medicine-faculty-apr...

In November, our laboratory published the first report detailing gene expression patterns of the human retinal pigment epithelium and choroid at the single cell level. We identified 11 categories (clusters) of cells, including melanocytes, Schwann cells and immune cells. Vascular endothelial cells showed distinct molecular profiles based on their location in the vascular tree, with unique capillary, arterial and venous patterns. In addition, eyes with macular degeneration showed higher expression of the gene RGCC, a potential target for future therapies.

In May of 2019, University of Iowa vision researchers published the first paper in the peer reviewed literature using single-cell gene expression within the human retina. With the aid of high-performance computing, the team was able to characterize gene expression profiles for 8,217 cells corresponding to ten different types of retinal cells. This multidisciplinary approach allowed for the first characterization of gene expression signatures in individual human retinal cell types such as photoreceptor cells and ganglion cells.