Postdoctoral Research Fellow (PhD req.)

A research fellowship is available to study light-mediated regulation of the visual cycle in vertebrate retinas. The first event in light perception is absorption of a photon by an opsin pigment, which isomerizes its 11 cis retinaldehyde (11 cis-RAL) chromophore to all trans retinaldehyde (all trans-RAL). After transiently activating the transduction cascade, the bleached pigment decays to release free all trans-retinaldehyde. Restoration of light sensitivity involves chemical conversion of all trans-RAL back to 11 cis-RAL via a multi-step enzyme pathway called the visual cycle. Mutations in the genes for multiple visual cycle proteins cause inherited blinding diseases in humans. We discovered that light plays an important role in modulating activities of the visual cycle. One protein that we are studying is RGR-opsin, a non-visual opsin in support cells of the retina. This fellowship is to study mechanisms of light-mediated regulation of visual cycle enzymes and the function of RGR-opsin in ocular tissues from genetically modified mice. Our laboratory employs a wide range of experimental approaches including enzymology, molecular biology, mammalian cell culture, protein purification, chemical manipulation of retinoids, and physiological approaches to study visual function in vivo. The applicant will join a dynamic research group interested in basic mechanisms of vision and inherited retinal diseases. Our laboratory is located in the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA, a premier institute in vision science.