Position description

The Gilhooley lab at the University of California, Los Angeles, is seeking highly motivated postdoctoral scholars with expertise in circadian neurobiology, mitochondrial biology or retinal and optic nerve to drive discoveries towards novel neuroprotective therapies for optic nerve disease.

The group focuses on the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells of the optic nerve (ipRGCs) - particularly the mechanisms by which ipRGCs demonstrate marked resistance to inherited (mitochondrial) optic neuropathies. In this endeavor, we combine multiple approaches, making use of both patient derived iPSC lines and advanced animal models with the application of multiple advanced imaging & electrophysiology methods among other techniques.

Uncovering why ipRGCs survive preferentially compared to other, more common, RGC types in disease is one of the core missions of the laboratory and is essential to develop novel treatments for th...