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Aparna Lakkaraju, PhD

TitleAssociate Professor
InstitutionUniversity of California San Francisco
DepartmentOphthalmology
Address10 Koret Way
San Francisco CA 94117
Phone415-502-9670
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    Collapse Biography 
    Collapse Education and Training
    University of Minnesota, MinneapolisPhDPharmaceutical Sciences
    Cornell University Weill Medical College, New YorkPost-doctoral TrainingOphthalmology & Cell Biology
    Collapse Awards and Honors
    National Eye Institute2003  - 2006Ruth L. Kirchstein F32 Individual Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award
    XIV International Symposium on Retinal Degenerations2010Best Young Investigator Presentation Award
    Research to Prevent Blindness2010  - 2014Career Development Award
    Retina Research Foundation2012  - 2018Rebecca Meyer Brown Professorship
    Christenson Estate2014Macular Degeneration Research Award
    Wisconsin Partnership Program2015  - 2017New Investigator Award
    BrightFocus Foundation2015  - 2018Charlotte & Alexander Danilevsky Award for Macular Degeneration Research

    Collapse Overview 
    Collapse Overview
    Dr. Lakkaraju’s research uses fundamental insights from retinal cell biology to develop effective therapies for inherited and age-related macular degenerations (AMD). These diseases destroy central high-resolution vision in over 30 million people globally and have limited therapeutic options. She studies the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), which performs numerous functions indispensable for vision, and is a key site of injury in macular degenerations. Currently, her laboratory works on four major projects: 1. Membrane trafficking and organelle function in the RPE; 2. RPE-photoreceptor communication; 3. Cellular mechanisms of retinal degenerations; and 4. Therapeutic strategies for AMD. Her team aims to identify drivers that initiate retinal injury because targeting early-stage disease when the rest of the visual circuitry is relatively intact affords the best chance of preserving vision. Using high-resolution and high-speed live imaging of the retina and mouse models of disease, their research has revealed how critical homeostatic functions are compromised during the disease process and helped identify clinically-approved drugs that can be repurposed to treat macular degenerations.


    Collapse Research 
    Collapse Research Activities and Funding
    Modulating Mitochondrial Dynamics in the Retinal Pigment Epithelium as a Therapeutic Strategy for Macular Dystrophies
    Macular Society UK Dec 1, 2015 - Jun 30, 2019
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Mechanisms of cellular clearance in the retinal pigment epithelium
    NIH R01EY023299Aug 1, 2015 - Jul 31, 2020
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Can RPE-derived Exosomes Contribute to Subretinal Drusenoid Deposits?
    BrightFocus Foundation M2015350Jul 1, 2015 - Jun 30, 2018
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Lysosome function and autophagy in age-related macular degeneration
    American Federation for Aging Research Jul 1, 2013 - Jun 30, 2015
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Role of Cholesterol Homeostasis in Macular Degeneration
    NIH F32EY015363Dec 1, 2003 - Nov 30, 2006
    Role: Principal Investigator

    Collapse ORNG Applications 
    Collapse In The News
    Collapse Faculty Mentoring

    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse Publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact us for help.
    List All   |   Timeline
    1. Lakkaraju A, ToopsKA, Tan LX.“Use of Inhibitors of Acid Sphingomyelinase to Treat Acquired and Inherited Retinal Degenerations”. 2018.
    2. Kaur G, Tan LX, Rathnasamy G, La Cunza N, Germer CJ, Toops KA, Fernandes M, Blenkinsop TA, Lakkaraju A. Aberrant early endosome biogenesis mediates complement activation in the retinal pigment epithelium in models of macular degeneration. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Aug 20. PMID: 30126999.
      View in: PubMed
    3. Kaur G, Lakkaraju A. Early Endosome Morphology in Health and Disease. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2018; 1074:335-343. PMID: 29721961.
      View in: PubMed
    4. Samuel W, Jaworski C, Postnikova OA, Kutty RK, Duncan T, Tan LX, Poliakov E, Lakkaraju A, Redmond TM. Appropriately differentiated ARPE-19 cells regain phenotype and gene expression profiles similar to those of native RPE cells. Mol Vis. 2017; 23:60-89. PMID: 28356702.
      View in: PubMed
    5. Sedykh I, TeSlaa JJ, Tatarsky RL, Keller AN, Toops KA, Lakkaraju A, Nyholm MK, Wolman MA, Grinblat Y. Novel roles for the radial spoke head protein 9 in neural and neurosensory cilia. Sci Rep. 2016 Sep 30; 6:34437. PMID: 27687975.
      View in: PubMed
    6. Tan LX, Toops KA, Lakkaraju A. Protective responses to sublytic complement in the retinal pigment epithelium. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 08 02; 113(31):8789-94. PMID: 27432952; PMCID: PMC4978296 [Available on 02/02/17].
      View in: PubMed, PubMed Central
    7. Toops KA, Tan LX, Lakkaraju A. Apolipoprotein E Isoforms and AMD. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2016; 854:3-9. PMID: 26427386.
      View in: PubMed
    8. Toops KA, Tan LX, Jiang Z, Radu RA, Lakkaraju A. Cholesterol-mediated activation of acid sphingomyelinase disrupts autophagy in the retinal pigment epithelium. Mol Biol Cell. 2015 Jan 01; 26(1):1-14. PMID: 25378587; PMCID: PMC4279221.
      View in: PubMed, PubMed Central
    9. Toops KA, Tan LX, Lakkaraju A. A detailed three-step protocol for live imaging of intracellular traffic in polarized primary porcine RPE monolayers. Exp Eye Res. 2014 Jul; 124:74-85. PMID: 24861273; PMCID: PMC4100485.
      View in: PubMed, PubMed Central
    10. Poliakov E, Strunnikova NV, Jiang JK, Martinez B, Parikh T, Lakkaraju A, Thomas C, Brooks BP, Redmond TM. Multiple A2E treatments lead to melanization of rod outer segment-challenged ARPE-19 cells. Mol Vis. 2014; 20:285-300. PMID: 24644403; PMCID: PMC3955416.
      View in: PubMed, PubMed Central
    11. Lakkaraju A, Toops KA, Xu J. Should I stay or should I go? Trafficking of sub-lytic MAC in the retinal pigment epithelium. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2014; 801:267-74. PMID: 24664707.
      View in: PubMed
    12. Toops KA, Lakkaraju A. Let's play a game of chutes and ladders: Lysosome fusion with the epithelial plasma membrane. Commun Integr Biol. 2013 Jul 01; 6(4):e24474. PMID: 23986802; PMCID: PMC3742055.
      View in: PubMed, PubMed Central
    13. Xu J, Toops KA, Diaz F, Carvajal-Gonzalez JM, Gravotta D, Mazzoni F, Schreiner R, Rodriguez-Boulan E, Lakkaraju A. Mechanism of polarized lysosome exocytosis in epithelial cells. J Cell Sci. 2012 Dec 15; 125(Pt 24):5937-43. PMID: 23038769; PMCID: PMC3585513.
      View in: PubMed, PubMed Central
    14. Lakkaraju A. Endo-lysosome function in the retinal pigment epithelium in health and disease. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2012; 723:723-9. PMID: 22183399.
      View in: PubMed
    15. Lakkaraju A, Carvajal-Gonzalez JM, Rodriguez-Boulan E. It takes two to tango to the melanosome. J Cell Biol. 2009 Oct 19; 187(2):161-3. PMID: 19841135; PMCID: PMC2768836.
      View in: PubMed, PubMed Central
    16. Thorne RG, Lakkaraju A, Rodriguez-Boulan E, Nicholson C. In vivo diffusion of lactoferrin in brain extracellular space is regulated by interactions with heparan sulfate. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Jun 17; 105(24):8416-21. PMID: 18541909; PMCID: PMC2448851.
      View in: PubMed, PubMed Central
    17. Lakkaraju A, Rodriguez-Boulan E. Itinerant exosomes: emerging roles in cell and tissue polarity. Trends Cell Biol. 2008 May; 18(5):199-209. PMID: 18396047; PMCID: PMC3754907.
      View in: PubMed, PubMed Central
    18. Lakkaraju A, Rodriguez-Boulan E. Cell biology: caught in the traffic. Nature. 2007 Jul 19; 448(7151):266-7. PMID: 17637651.
      View in: PubMed
    19. Lakkaraju A, Finnemann SC, Rodriguez-Boulan E. The lipofuscin fluorophore A2E perturbs cholesterol metabolism in retinal pigment epithelial cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Jun 26; 104(26):11026-31. PMID: 17578916; PMCID: PMC1904145.
      View in: PubMed, PubMed Central
    20. Perret E, Lakkaraju A, Deborde S, Schreiner R, Rodriguez-Boulan E. Evolving endosomes: how many varieties and why? Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2005 Aug; 17(4):423-34. PMID: 15975780.
      View in: PubMed
    21. Lakkaraju A, Rahman YE, Dubinsky JM. Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein mediates the endocytosis of anionic liposomes in neurons. J Biol Chem. 2002 Apr 26; 277(17):15085-92. PMID: 11830589.
      View in: PubMed
    22. Lakkaraju A, Dubinsky JM, Low WC, Rahman YE. Neurons are protected from excitotoxic death by p53 antisense oligonucleotides delivered in anionic liposomes. J Biol Chem. 2001 Aug 24; 276(34):32000-7. PMID: 11406618.
      View in: PubMed
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