John D. Ash, PhD, and Colleagues Share New Research in Retinal Health

John D. Ash, PhD, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and colleagues from the Dean A. McGee Eye Institute at the University of Oklahoma Health Campus and Boston University School of Medicine recently published a new study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry titled “Non-caveolar caveolin-1 in retinal Müller glia promotes innate immune responses.”

Caveolae are flask-shaped invaginations in the plasma membrane that contain a type of protein called caveolin-1. The protein can also exist outside caveolae, and Dr. Ash and his colleagues investigated how non-caveolar caveolin-1 impacted innate immune responses in Müller glial cells, a type of neuron-supportive cell in the retina. The team’s findings uncovered potential for the protein’s role in the treatment of inflammatory eye diseases, advancing the understanding of retinal health and disease.

Dr. Ash is an expert in retinal degeneration, whose research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that drive vision loss in inherited retinal diseases and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). He holds the E. Ronald Salvitti Chair in Ophthalmology Research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and serves as vice chair of Ophthalmology, overseeing research and academic development within the department. Dr. Ash earned his doctorate in Biochemistry from The Ohio State University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Ocular Cell Biology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston; he joined the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Vision Institute in 2022.