ÿþ<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <title>The Laboratory of J. Ambati- The Team</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <meta name="robots" content="noarchive" /> <meta name="Keywords" content="Ocular Angiogenesis Choroidal Neovascularization Corneal siRNA TLR3 age-related macular degeneration University Kentucky Phage Display Proteomics Ambati SPARC MCP-1 CCR2 CCR3 VEGFR-1 soluble VEGFR2 geographic atrophy" /> <meta name="Description" content="Ambati Ocular Angiogenesis Laboratory " /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="ambatistylesheet.css" type="text/css" /> </head> <body style="background-image: url(images/background-fade.jpg); margin-top: 1px; height: 22px; background-repeat: no-repeat; width: 985px;"> <div style="text-align: center;"> <img src="images/team.jpg" usemap="#team" border="0" alt="Images used for site navigation." width="750" height="225" /> <map name="team" id="team"> <area shape="rect" coords=" 28, 82, 159, 211" href="research.html" target="_self" alt="Link to the Research Page, image showing sflt-1 expression in mouse cornea above image of manatee which does not have corneal sflt-1." /> <area shape="rect" coords=" 192, 81, 324, 210" href="publications.html" target="_self" alt="Link to the Publications Page, image showing 3D wire model of laser induced choroidal neovascularization in the mouse." /> <area shape="rect" coords=" 426, 81, 557, 210" href="contact.html" target="_self" alt="Link to the Contact Page, image showing confocal image of human choroidal endothelial cell expressing surface toll-like receptor 3." /> <area shape="rect" coords=" 588, 81, 719, 209" nohref="nohref" alt="Link to the Team Page, image showing inverted photograph of Ambati lab members." /> <area shape="rect" coords=" 466, 53, 750, 69" href="index.html" target="_self" alt="Ambati_Lab" /> <area shape="rect" coords=" 1, 6, 289, 49" href="index.html" target="_self" alt="Ambati_Lab" /> <area shape="default" nohref="nohref" alt="Nothing here" /> </map> </div> <div align="center"><img src="images/lab2011.jpg" usemap="#group" alt="A Group Picture of Lab Members" width="634" height="444" align="middle" border="9"><p> <map name="group" id="group"> <area shape="circle" coords="162, 268, 20" href="the_team.html#Baffi" target="_self" alt="Judit Baffi"> <area shape="circle" coords="257, 297, 20" href="the_team.html#Kim" target="_self" alt="Young-Hee Kim"> <area shape="circle" coords="351, 266, 20" href="the_team.html#Ambati" target="_self" alt="Jayakrishna Ambati"> <area shape="circle" coords="432, 268, 20" href="the_team.html#Tarallo" target="_self" alt="Valeria Tarallo"> <area shape="circle" coords="504, 250, 20" href="the_team.html#Gelfand" target="_self" alt="Brad Gelfand"> <area shape="circle" coords="115, 229, 20" href="the_team.html#Morgan" target="_self" alt="Hunter Morgan"> <area shape="circle" coords="213, 245, 20" href="the_team.html#Kleinman" target="_self" alt="Mark Kleinman"> <area shape="circle" coords="319, 241, 20" href="the_team.html#Silver" target="_self" alt="Natalie Silver"> <area shape="circle" coords="403, 223, 20" href="the_team.html#Albuquerque" target="_self" alt="Romulo Albuquerque"> <area shape="circle" coords="525, 207, 20" href="the_team.html#Kerur" target="_self" alt="Nagaraj Kerur"> <area shape="circle" coords="147, 205, 20" href="the_team.html#Hirano" target="_self" alt="Yoshio Hirano"> <area shape="circle" coords="245, 203, 20" href="the_team.html#Dridi" target="_self" alt="Sami Dridi"> <area shape="circle" coords="442, 202, 20" href="the_team.html#Fowler" target="_self" alt="Ben Fowler"> <area shape="circle" coords="193, 176, 20" href="the_team.html#Payne" target="_self" alt="Charles Payne"> <area shape="circle" coords="381, 159, 20" href="the_team.html#King" target="_self" alt="Robin King"> <area shape="circle" coords="488, 182, 20" href="the_team.html#Botzet" target="_self" alt="Gregory Botzet"> <area shape="circle" coords="526, 133, 20" href="the_team.html#Bogdanovich" target="_self" alt="Sasha Bogdanovich"> <area shape="circle" coords="424, 76, 20" href="the_team.html#Robertson" target="_self" alt="Darrell Robertson"> <area shape="circle" coords="351, 48, 20" href="the_team.html#Xu" target="_self" alt="Li Xu"> <area shape="circle" coords="492, 42, 20" href="the_team.html#Pattison" target="_self" alt="Gary Pattison"> <area shape="default" nohref="nohref" alt="Team Picture"></map></div> <b>Lab Photo</b> (Lab members listed left to right): <i>Row 1 -</i> <a href="the_team.html#Baffi">Judit Baffi</a>, </i> <a href="the_team.html#Kim">Young-Hee Kim</a>, </i> <a href="the_team.html#Ambati">Jayakrishna Ambati</a>, </i> <a href="the_team.html#Tarallo">Valeria Tarallo</a>, </i> <a href="the_team.html#Gelfand">Brad Gelfand</a>; <i>Row 2 -</i><a href="the_team.html#Morgan">Hunter Morgan</a>, <a href="the_team.html#Kleinman">Mark Kleinman</a>, <a href="the_team.html#Silver">Natalie Silver</a>, <a href="the_team.html#Albuquerque">Romulo Albuquerque</a>, <a href="the_team.html#Kerur">Nagaraj Kerur</a>; <i>Row 3 -</i> <a href="the_team.html#Hirano">Yoshio Hirano</a>, <a href="the_team.html#Dridi">Sami Dridi</a>, <a href="the_team.html#Fowler">Ben Fowler</a>; <i>Row 4 -</i> <a href="the_team.html#Payne">Charles Payne</a>, <a href="the_team.html#King">Robin King</a>, <a href="the_team.html#Botzet">Gregory Botzet</a>, <a href="the_team.html#Bogdanovich">Sasha Bogdanovich</a>; <i>Row 5 -</i><a href="the_team.html#Xu">Li Xu</a>, <a href="the_team.html#Robertson">Darrell Robertson</a>, <a href="the_team.html#Pattison">Gary Pattison</a>. </div><p><p><hr> <br><b>Current Lab Member Profiles:</b><br> <p><strong><a name="Ambati" href="mailto:jamba2@email.uky.edu">Jayakrishna Ambati, M.D.&nbsp; Principal Investigator</a></strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/jay_ambati.jpg" alt="Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati" width="216" height="131" hspace="12" align="left" style="float: left; width: 245px; height: 148px;" />Jayakrishna Ambati is Professor of Physiology and Professor &amp; Vice-Chair of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Kentucky. He holds the Dr. E. Vernon Smith &amp; Eloise C. Smith Endowed Chair in Macular Degeneration Research. His scientific aspirations are to identify the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of AMD, determine the triggers of the angiogenic switch that converts this disease from an atrophic to a neovascular phenotype, and to develop novel therapeutics to prevent and treat this blinding condition. He is the first ophthalmologist to win the <a href="http://www.ddcf.org/Medical-Research/Program-Strategies/Clinical-Research/Distinguished-Clinical-Scientist-Award/2008-DCSA-Grantees/Jayakrishna-Ambati-MD/">Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award</a> and a <a href="http://www.bwfund.org/page.php?mode=privateview&pageID=184#anchor_833">Burroughs Wellcome Fund Clinical Scientist Award in Translational Research</a>. He was also elected to <a href="http://www.the-asci.org/data/profile.php?pid=500542">The American Society for Clinical Investigation</a> and was the first ophthalmologist to be elected to <a href="http://aap-online.org/">The Association of American Physicians</a>. He has been elected as a Fellow of the <a href="http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/fellows/2011.shtml">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a>. He also serves on the Editorial Board of <a href="http://www.iovs.org/">Investigative Ophthalmology &amp; Visual Sciences</a> and is an Associate Editor of <a href="http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620418/description#description">Ophthalmology</a>. He won the <a href="http://www.arvo.org/EWEB/DynamicPage.aspx?site=arvo2&webcode=2010AwardRecipients">2010 ARVO Cogan Award</a>, and his Cogan Lecture was recognized with the <a href="http://www.uic.edu/com/eye/Department/ClessBestOfBest.shtml">2010 Cless Best of the Best Award</a>. He also won the <a href="http://depts.washington.edu/ophthweb/roger-johnson-award/">2010 Roger H. Johnson Memorial Award for Macular Degeneration Research</a>, and a <a href="http://www.rpbusa.org/rpb/">2010 Research to Prevent Blindness Senior Scientific Investigator Award</a>. He has been named winner of the <a href="http://www.arvo.org/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?site=foundation&WebCode=pfizertransaward2011">2011 AFER/Pfizer Ophthalmics/Carl Camras Translational Research Award</a>. <br> His wife Kameshwari and he derive the greatest joy from playing with their daughters Meenakshi and Vidya, and exploring <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks">TED Talks</a>.</p> <p><a name="Kleinman" href="mailto:mark.kleinman@uky.edu"><strong>Mark Kleinman, M.D. Post-doctoral Fellow</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/mark_kleinman.jpg" alt="Dr Mark Kleinman" width="216" height="199" hspace="12" style="float: left; width: 153px; height: 140px;" />Dr. Kleinman is a senior post-doctoral combined clinical/research fellow in diseases of the vitreous, retina, and macula. He joined the lab in 2006 after completing both his medical education and a surgery internship at New York University. During his 5-year M.D. degree, a program enriched with basic science research and international health projects, he developed a specific interest in the field of stem/progenitor cell biology and anomalous vascular growth, in particular with <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=kleinman%20me%20hemangioma">proliferating infantile hemangioma</a>, for which he was awarded the <a href="http://www.pedsderm.net/">Weston Research Grant</a>. At the University of Kentucky, he performed a post-doctoral research fellowship, supported by the <a href="http://www.irrfonline.org/irrfonline/Kelman/Entries/2008/1/1_Mark_E._Kleinman%2C_BS%2C_MD_2008.html">IRRF Charles D. Kelman Award</a>, followed by an ophthalmology residency. He has now continued his investigations with a <a href="http://uknow.uky.edu/content/kleinman-receives-nih-grant-ophthalmology-research">K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award from the National Eye Institute</a> and a <a href="http://uknow.uky.edu/content/ophthalmologist-receives-prestigious-career-development-award">Career Development Award from the Foundation Fighting Blindness</a>. Mark s research interests are focused on defining the molecular interface of angiogenesis and cell death mediators within the biologic spectrum of immune-related inflammation in retinal diseases. His translational goals are to develop diagnostic bio-imaging tools and to design new therapeutic approaches to vision and life threatening eye diseases. Away from work, Mark thoroughly enjoys spending time with his wife, Blythe, son, Matai, and daughter, MeilinGrey and tries to remain active with his diverse hobbies including culinary art, reading, programming audio-midi sequencers, golf, and travel.</p> <p><a name="Hirano" href="mailto:yoshio.hirano@uky.edu"><strong>Yoshio Hirano, M.D./Ph.D. Post-doctoral Fellow</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/yoshio_hirano.jpg" alt="Yoshio Hirano" width="113" height="139" hspace="12" align="left">Dr. Hirano was born in Innoshima, Hiroshima, Japan, which is on a small island. He got his MD in 2000 at Nagoya City University Medical School and completed his residency in Tokoname Municipal Hospital. In 2005, he returned to the university as an assistant professor. He has worked as a cataract and a vitreous surgeon for 5 years. He was awarded the 2008 ARVO/Alcon Early Career Clinician Scientist Research Award and 2009 Alcon Japan Hida Memorial Award. He joined the Ambati lab in April 2010 after finishing his PhD at Nagoya City University and his research focuses on dissecting molecular mechanisms and developing novel therapies in age related macular degeneration. Outside of the lab, Yoshio enjoys spending time with his wife, Takako, and daughters, Waka and Sawa.</p><br><br> <a name="Albuquerque" href="mailto:rjalbu2@uky.edu"><strong>Romulo Albuquerque, D.D.S./Ph.D., M.D. Student</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/romulo_albuquerque.jpg" alt="Romulo Albuquerque" align="left" height="124" hspace="12" width="144" />Upon completing a DDS from the University of Pernambuco-Brazil in 2000, Dr. Albuquerque joined the residency and Masters Degree Program in the Orofacial Pain Center at the University of Kentucky. After completing his residency, he aspired to become a physician-scientist and gained acceptance to the UK MD/PhD program. Romulo&rsquo;s previous research experiences are in the field of orofacial pain epidemiology and functional neuroimaging studies. During the three years of training, he was directly involved in the development and execution of several research projects in collaboration with faculty and other residents which yielded several publications in the field. He joined the Ambati Lab in 2005 and significantly contributed to studies on the role of complement mediated VEGF expression. In 2006, Dr. Albuquerque was awarded a <a href="http://www.rpbusa.org/rpb/news/archive/page/?count=2">RPB Medical Student Fellowship</a> to study the role of soluble VEGFR-1 in corneal avascularity. Romulo&rsquo;s research efforts have focused on the discovery and characterization of alternative novel endogenous soluble factors that modulate the growth of blood and lymphatic vessel with a particular interest in specific inhibitors of lymphangiogenesis for which he was awarded a <a href="http://www.fightforsight.org/Grants/Research-Award-Types/">Fight for Sight Post-Doctoral Award</a> in 2008. The absence of lymphatic vessels in the cornea affords its immunological privilege, which is critical for the success of corneal transplantation. Romulo enjoys his time away from the lab with his lovely wife, Lisandra usually cycling, running, or exploring the Bluegrass countryside.</p> <a name="Fowler" href="mailto:benjamin.fowler@uky.edu"><strong>Benjamin Fowler, M.D./Ph.D. Student</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/ben_fowler.jpg" alt="Ben Fowler" align="left" height="124" hspace="12" width="144" />Ben Fowler hails from Bethesda, Maryland, where he attended Walter Johnson High School. He matriculated at Middlebury College, nestled in the bucolic countryside of Western Vermont. While there, Ben earned a degree with honors in biochemistry under the guidance of his thesis advisor Dr. Stephen Sontum. He also served as co-captain of the Middlebury Track and Field Team, earning conference honors in sportsmanship, academics, and athletic performance. Fowler's keen interest in research stems from his early laboratory experiences at the National Cancer Institute under the tuition of Dr. Tito Fojo. In 2009, Ben joined the MD/PhD program at the University of Kentucky. He is enthusiastic to be a contributing member of the Ambati Laboratory. Besides research, Ben also enjoys running, reading, and cooling off with a refreshing glass of apple cider.</p><br> <a name="Baffi" href="mailto:jubawi2006@yahoo.com"><strong>Judit Baffi, M.D./Ph.D. Research Assistant Professor</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/judit_baffi.jpg" alt="judit baffi.jpg" width="144" height="182" hspace="12" align="left" style="width: 83px; height: 106px;" />Dr. Baffi earned a MD/PhD from Semmelweis University Medical School, Budapest, Hungary. She did postdoctoral studies as a Fogarty International Fellow in clinical neuroscience in the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, and in ocular immunology and gene therapy in the National Eye Institute in the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. She completed her residency in ophthalmology at the University of Kentucky and is currently receiving her subspecialty training in medical retina. Her research focuses on dissecting molecular mechanisms in age related macular degeneration and is supported by <a href="http://main.uab.edu/irrf/show.asp?durki=42013">The International Retinal Research Foundation</a> and <a href="http://www.ahaf.org/">The American Health Assistance Foundation</a>. She is the recipient of a Physician Scientist Award from the College of Medicine at the University of Kentucky and the prestigious <a href="http://heed.org/">Heed Fellowship</a>. When she is not at work she spends her time with her husband Jassir and her lovely children, Lili and Sami.</p> <a name="Dridi" href="mailto:sdrid2@uky.edu"><strong>Sami Dridi, Ph.D. Post-doctoral Fellow</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/sami_dridi.jpg" alt="Sami Dridi" width="144" height="182" hspace="12" align="left" style="width: 83px; height: 106px;" />Sami was born in Bizerte (Tunisia). After earning his PhD from the National Polytechnic Institute of Lorraine (INPL) France, he joined several national and international teams as a post-doctoral fellowship including the National Veterinary Institute of Nantes (ENVN, France) where he worked on molecular mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in Campylobacter and The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at West Virginia University where he studied lipogenesis and fatty acid metabolism. He has also worked as a contractual professor for one year in ENITA Bordeaux (France) and then he joined the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) as a visiting scientist for 4 years where he investigated the molecular mechanisms for peripheral and central regulation of energy homeostasis. At 2008 he joined the Ambati lab and his research focuses on dissecting molecular mechanisms in age related macular degeneration. Outside of the lab, Sami enjoys spending time with his wife, Marie-Jeanne, daughter Jalila and son Noham. He also enjoys playing and coaching soccer with friends.</p> <a name="Gelfand" href="mailto:brad.gelfand@uky.edu"><strong>Brad Gelfand, Ph.D. Post-doctoral Fellow</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/brad_gelfand.jpg" alt="Brad Gelfand" width="135" height="105" hspace="12" align="left"/>Brad was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs. He graduated with a degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Iowa (Iowa City). He next attended the University of Virginia (Charlottesville) where he received his PhD also in Biomedical Engineering. His graduate work focused on how mechanical forces influence both endothelial biology and the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Brad joined the lab in 2010 and is looking forward to a successful scientific career. When he's not in the lab, he enjoys spending time with his lovely wife Christen, daughter Morgan and his dogs Vader and Yoda.</p><br><br> <a name="Bogdanovich" href="mailto:sasha.b@uky.edu"><strong>Sasha Bogdanovich, M.D./M.Sc./Ph.D. Post-doctoral Fellow</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/sasha_bogdanovich.jpg" alt="Sasha Bogdanovich" width="150" height="149" hspace="12" align="left"/>Dr. Bogdanovich joined the lab in January 2010 as a post-doctoral scholar after obtaining his Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of Novi Sad (Novi Sad, Serbia) and the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA, USA) where he was trained by Prof. Tejvir S. Khurana. His thesis title was, "Myostatin blockade for functional improvement of Duchenne's dystrophic phenotype." His work focused on dissecting the molecular involvement of myostatin in muscle and the development of myostatin blockade strategies for muscular dystrophy therapy. Previously Sasha completed his M.D. degree and training at the University of Novi Sad School of Medicine, Serbia. He also received his M.Sc. degree (in Physiology) from same University. Some of his areas of expertise include muscle physiology, (micro) -dissection, and -surgery. For his research, Sasha has been awarded a Career Developmental Grant from the Muscular Dystrophy Association, USA.</p><br> <a name="Tarallo" href="mailto:valeria.tarallo@uky.edu"><strong>Valeria Tarallo, Ph.D. Post-doctoral Fellow</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/valeria_tarallo.jpg" alt="Valeria Tarallo" width="135" height="105" hspace="12" align="left"/>Dr. Tarallo joined the lab in January 2010 as a post-doc after receiving her PhD at the University of Naples "Federico II" where she trained with Dr. Sandro De Falco. Her thesis title was, "PlGF variants for inhibition of VEGF-dependent angiogenesis." Dr. Tarallo got her MSc degree in Biological Sciences (summa cum laude) at the same University. She is most knowledgeable in the areas of angiogenesis as well as cellular and molecular biology. Valeria enjoys spending time hanging out with friends and exploring Lexington area.</p><br><br> <a name="Kim" href="mailto:young-hee.kim@uky.edu"><strong>Young-Hee Kim, Ph.D. Post-doctoral Fellow</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/young-hee_kim.jpg" alt="Young-Hee Kim" width="139" height="129" hspace="12" align="left" />Dr. Kim earned her doctorate in Neurobiology from Gyeonsang National University in South Korea in Aug 2004. For her Ph.D. thesis she investigated the phototransduction cascade in the retina of early diabetes. She has worked as a research associate professor for 4 years with the Biomedical Center at the same university and also teaching experiences human anatomy & pathology/physiology in Jinju Health College for 5 years. She had continued the research of "Neuropathy & Vasculopathy in Diabetic Retina" for 10 years in Korea. She is a woman of great experience in all processes of vascular biology (angiography), histology (in situ hybridization and multi-immunostaining), and molecular biology (northern, western, and proteomics) and also clever at animal surgery and microscopy. She has a very inquisitive and sharp mind and is a very hard worker. She joined Dr. Ambati's lab to conduct research in the field of "Macular & RPE degeneration" on Nov 2010 and is very happy to join this group where she hopes to make great contributions.</p> <a name="Kerur" href="mailto:nagaraj.kerur@uky.edu"><strong>Nagaraj Kerur, D.V.M., M.Sc., Ph.D. Post-doctoral Fellow</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/nagaraj_kerur.jpg" alt="Nagaraj Kerur" width="113" height="129" hspace="12" align="left" />Dr. Kerur was born and raised in India. After earning a degree in Veterinary Medicine from University of Agricultural Sciences Dharwad, he received his Masters degree in Veterinary Microbiology from Anand Agricultural University. He earned his PhD at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (North Chicago) under the mentorship of Dr. Bala Chandran. His graduate study focused on examining the inflammasome activation in response to Kaposi's Sarcoma Associated Herpesvirus. He joined Dr. Ambati's lab in August 2011 and is looking forward to an exciting and productive scientific career.</p><br><br> <a name="Blandford" href="mailto:alex.blandford@uky.edu"><strong>Alex Blandford, M.D. Student</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/alex_blandford.jpg" alt="Alex Blandford" width="144" height="182" hspace="12" align="left" style="width: 83px; height: 106px;" />Alex is originally from Lexington and received his bachelors degree from Centre College. He joined the Ambati lab in the summer of 2008 before starting medical school in the fall. While in the lab, he was awarded and completed the <a href=" http://www.mc.uky.edu/meded/student_affairs/Research.asp">University of Kentucky Center for Clinical and Translational Science Professional Student Mentored Research Fellowship</a>. In his free time Alex enjoys spending time with his wife, Lucy, and playing soccer and golf.</p><br><br> <a name="King" href="mailto:rking2@uky.edu"><strong>Robin King, B.S. Manager/Scientist II</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/robin_king.jpg" alt="Robin King" align="left" height="121" hspace="12" width="144" />Robin handles several aspects of the daily operations of the laboratory including management of our transgenic mouse colony, one of the largest at the University of Kentucky. She is also skilled in immunohistochemistry and other antibody based molecular techniques.</p><br><br><br><br><p> <a name="Payne" href="mailto:cpayne@uky.edu"><strong>Charlie Payne, Manager/Research Analyst</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/charlie_payne.jpg" alt="Charlie Payne" align="left" height="138" hspace="12" width="175" /><br><br><br><br><br><br><br></p><br><p> <a name="Robertson" href="mailto:darobe2@uky.edu"><strong>Darrell Robertson, B.S. Research Analyst Senior</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/darrell_robertson.jpg" alt="Darrell Robertson" width="172" height="157" hspace="12" align="left">Darrell, though a transplant from the state of Ohio, has spent the last thirty years in Kentucky. He attended Eastern Kentucky University and earned his B.S. in Biology in 1984. He spent several years working a number of different jobs while taking additional classes. During this time he joined the Kentucky Army National Guard and worked on his oil painting. In 1986 he met and married his lovely wife Carol. He took his first job at the University of Kentucky in 1988 and has been here ever since. Darrell has worked in the following departments; Biology, Biochemistry, Surgery, Microbiology/Immunology/Molecular Genetics, Internal Medicine and now Ophthalmology. Darrell joined Dr. Ambati's lab in December of 2010. He is currently working extensively with the transgenic mouse colony. When not at work, Darrell is active in the Boy Scouts of America, where he is the Committee Chair for Troop 401 in Richmond. His son Lucas recently received his Eagle Scout rank and his parents are justly proud. In their nonexistent spare time, Darrell and his Family raise chickens, dogs and cats.</p><br><p> <a name="Xu" href="mailto:li.xu@uky.edu"><strong>Li Xu, B.S. Research Technician</strong></a></p><p> <a name="Pattison" href="mailto:gary.pattison@uky.edu"><strong>Gary R Pattison, B.A./A.A.S./RLAT Manager/Research Analyst</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/gary_pattison.jpg" alt="Gary Pattison" hspace="12" align="left" style="width: 97px; height: 106px;" />Gary grew up in Virginia and received his bachelors degree from Emory & Henry College. After moving to Lexington he also completed the Computer Information Systems & Technology program at Lexington Community College (now Bluegrass Community and Technical College.) He is a Registered Laboratory Animal Technician and has approximately 14 years of experience with laboratory animal models and their care. He joined the Ambati lab the end of the year 2005 as an assistant mouse colony manager. He became full time with the lab in August of 2010 and continues to look after the lab's mice, now also including the electronic ones too. In his free time Gary enjoys fast driving and hot air ballooning as well as tinkering with computers and all the latest gadgetry.</p><br> <a name="Botzet" href="mailto:gregory.botzet@uky.edu"><strong>Gregory Botzet, B.S. Research Analyst</strong></a></p><p> <a name="Silver" href="mailto:natalie.silver@uky.edu"><strong>Natalie Silver, M.D. Intern/Resident</strong></a></p><p> <a name="Morgan" href="mailto:hunter.morgan@uky.edu"><strong>Hunter Morgan, Undergraduate Student</strong></a></p><p> <b>Lab Alumni Profiles:</b><p><p> <p><a name="Kaneko" href="mailto:hiroki.kaneko2@gmail.com"><strong>Hiroki Kaneko, M.D./Ph.D.</a> Post-doctoral Scholar 2008 April - December 2010</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/hiroki_kaneko.jpg" alt="Hiroki Kaneko" width="192" height="153" hspace="12" align="left">Dr. Kaneko was born and raised in Okazaki, Japan. He got his MD in 2002 at Nagoya University and completed his residency in Nishio Municipal Hospital where he had trained as a general ophthalmologist. In 2004, he was returned to the university and received demanding but rewarding training in both surgery and biochemistry as a Retina/Vitreous specialist over four years. He started his research fellowship at UK in April 2008 after finishing his PhD at Nagoya University. He is knowledgeable in the subjects of retinal pathology and electrophysiology, and largely contributes to the in vivo works in our laboratory. Hiroki enjoys spending time with his wife, Izumi who is a pianist as well as his daughter, Yumi, and son, Kiyoshi. He loves playing sports, especially golf and skiing. He also enjoys listening to Jazz piano.</p><br><br> <p><a name="Cho" href="mailto:cho.wongil@gmail.com"><strong>Wongil Cho, Ph.D.</a> Post-doctoral Fellow 2007 September - 2010 February</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/wongil_cho.jpg" alt="wongil cho.jpg" width="144" height="205" hspace="12" align="left" style="width: 127px; height: 181px;" />Dr. Cho was born and raised in Jeon Ju, South Korea, a small city in the southwest part of the nation. As an undergraduate, he studied Clinical Laboratory Science at Health Science College of Yonsei University. Thereafter, Wongil worked at Inha General Hospital at Sungnam, Korea for 2 and half years as a laboratory technician. In 1997, with strong motivation for pursuing an academic career, he entered graduate studies in medical college of Hanyang University in Seoul with a double major in Human Gross Anatomy and Cell Biology. Meanwhile, Dr. Cho worked as an instructor of Human Gross Anatomy, Histology and Neuroanatomy and as a Neuroscience researcher. After being awarded his Ph. D., Wongil came to US and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at UNC Chapel Hill in the Cell and Developmental Biology Department from 2003 to 2005. He then moved to University of Kentucky and worked in Spinal Cord and Brain Research Center for 2 years before transferring to Dr. Ambati&rsquo;s lab in September 2007. Dr. Cho&rsquo;s current research interests are the effects of immune receptor activation on AMD pathogenesis and ocular angiogenesis. Outside of the lab, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Junghee, son, James and daughter, Hannah and playing tennis with friends.</p><br> <p><a href="mailto:kiyoshiy1007@gmail.com"><strong>Kiyoshi Yamada, M.D.</a> Post-doctoral Fellow 2006 July - 2008 June</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><img src="images/kiyoshi_yamada.jpg" alt="kiyoshi yamada.jpg" width="216" height="213" hspace="12" align="left" style="width: 126px; height: 126px;" />Dr. Yamada is from Nagoya, Japan located on the big island of Honshu. He graduated from Kitasato University School of Medicine in 1994 and completed a residency in the Department of Ophthalmology, Nagoya City University Medical School, Aichi, Japan in 1997. Previous to joining the laboratory, Dr. Yamada worked as a general ophthalmologist with an emphasis in retinopathies and glaucoma. He began his research fellowship at UK in September 2006. &nbsp;Kiyoshi has made significant contributions to the investigation of the anti-angiogenic class effect of siRNA. &nbsp;He is an expert in the laser-injury model of choroidal neovascularization and vascular volumetrics using advanced techniques in confocal microscopy. He is married and has a 3 year old son, Keoki. &nbsp;In April 2008, he left to return returning to his clinical work and is dearly missed.</p><br> <a name="Saito" href="mailto:kuni3110@gmail.com"><strong>Kuniharu Saito, M.D./Ph.D.</a> Post Doctoral Scholar 2008 March - 2009 June</strong></p><p> <a name="Grace" href="mailto:Martha.Grace.Green@uky.edu"><strong>Martha Grace Green, M.D.</a> Post Doctoral Scholar 2008 July - 2009 June</strong></p><p> <a name="Takeda" href="mailto:atakeda417@yahoo.co.jp"><strong>Atsunobu Takeda, M.D., Ph.D.</a> Post Doctoral Scholar 2005 September - 2007 August</strong></p><p> <a name="Raisler" href="mailto:bjrais2@email.uky.edu"><strong>Brian J. Raisler, Ph.D.</a> Post Doctoral Scholar 2004 July - 2007 June</strong></p><p> <a name="Nozaki" href="mailto:miho.nozaki@gmail.com"><strong>Miho Nozaki, M.D., Ph.D.</a> Post Doctoral Scholar 2004 May - 2006 August</strong></p><p> <a name="Sakurai" href="mailto:eijisaku@aol.com"><strong>Eiji Sakurai, M.D.</a> Post Doctoral Scholar 2002 October - 2004 June</strong></p><p> <a name="Anand" href="mailto:akshay1anand@rediffmail.com"><strong>Akshay Anand, Ph.D.</a> Post Doctoral Scholar 2001 July - 2003 June</strong></p><p> <a name="Mcconnell" href="mailto:mjmcco2@uky.edu"><strong>Matt McConnell, M.S.</a> Manager/Research Associate 2008 July - 2010 August</strong></p> <table style="background-color: rgb(6, 35, 111); width: 995px; height: 40px;" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" summary="Table containing the footer for this page."> <tbody> <tr> <td class="footer">&copy; Ambati Lab&nbsp;All rights reserved except for <a href="http://www.seaworld.org">photo of manatee, licensed by Seaworld.org.</a></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </body> </html>