Cheryl M. Craft Mary D. Allen Chair in Vision Research, Doheny Eye Institute and Professor Ophthalmology and Cell & Neurobiology Keck School of Medicine

Education:
BS(Honors) 1969 Bio./Chem./Math - Valdosta State College, Georgia
PhD 1984 Cellular & Structural Biology/Neuroscience - University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship:
1984 - 1986 National Eye Institute, National Institute of Child Health & Human Development/National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

Started at USC: 1994

Research Topics: G-protein coupled receptors, Arrestins, Signal Transduction, Vision Research, Neurogenetics, Cellular Neurobiology, Age-related Macular Degeneration, Retinitis Pigmentosa, Gene Therapy

Research Description

The research goals of the Mary D. Allen Laboratory for Vision Research include understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating vision and the biological clock. Clinical and basic science overlap and complement each other and are focused to a long term objective of determining the genetic etiology and prevention of visual loss. My research uses a multidiscipline approach including biochemical and cellular techniques to address questions of how the visual system works and is regulated by light and dark periods throughout the circadian cycle.

Dr. Craft's group studies the cone photoreceptor G-protein coupled receptor signal transduction cascade from the molecular and biochemical level to examining the physiological phenotype of various mice genetically engineered to target specific genes encoding cone phototransduction proteins, including the visual arrestins (Zhu et al., 2003). We discovered the visual arrestins and identified the high expression and essential role of recovery shared by both Arrestin 1 and Arrestin 4 (cone arrestin) in cones (Nikonov et al., 2008).  The NIH National Eye Institute funded studies include the structure and functional pathways of the visual arrestins and G-protein receptor kinase 1 in down regulation utilizing these knockouts.  Currently, we are creating transgenic mice to restore an alternative spliced forms of cone arrestin on the Arr4 null background.

Our studies also explore the photoreceptor synaptic function of the visual arrestins and their role in the regulation of the SNARE complex through interactions with the ATPase N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor (NSF). Ongoing studies include techniques such as 2-D gel analysis of proteins and Affymetrix Gene Chip technology to determine the genes that are regulated and modulated in phototransduction that may be critical for the long term survival of the retina. We also utilize yeast two-hybrid screening of retinal libraries to examine protein-protein interactions. Collaborative work includes using gene therapy to target cones and to rescue defective phototransduction pathways to retain the cytoarchitecture and physiology of the degenerating retina.