Scott Nawy, Ph.D.

The primary interest of the lab is an understanding of the function of the mammalian retina in both its normal and diseased states.

We use a combination of physiological, anatomical and biochemical approaches (primarily in that order) to carry out our studies

There are two major sites of synaptic interaction in the retina, one between photoreceptors and bipolar cells in the outer retina, and the other between bipolar cells and ganglion cells in the inner retina.  My lab is actively involved in pursuing questions about each synaptic layer that pertain directly to mechanisms underlying vision in both healthy and diseased retinas. A point of emphasis for disease is the etiology of glaucoma. Our current hypothesis is that one underlying cause of this disease is aberrant editing of a specific glutamate receptor subunit in retinal ganglion cells. Another project is the TRP channel TRPM1. Mutations in this channel, expressed in ON bipolar cells, result in congenital stationary night blindness. We are currently investigating the regulation and function of this unique channel in both its native and mutated forms.