Shaomei Wang

Shaomei Wang
Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute, Beverly Blve, CA, USA

Biography

After obtaining my M.D. in China, I went to UK to pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience. I entered the field of retinal degenerative diseases as a post-doc working with Professor Ray Lund PhD, FRS, at the Institute of Ophthalmology, UK. Our main research projects were to (i) understand the underlying pathology of retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular disease; (ii) develop more effective and early diagnosis of these conditions; and (iii) develop therapeutic approaches to ameliorate these blinding diseases. In 2001, I moved with Professor Lund to the Moran Eye Center, UT, and was promoted as assistant professor. In 2006, I moved to Casey Eye Institute, as faculty. I established an independent research program and was award with NIH grant. Now as faculty member, I am working at Regenerative Medicine Institute at Cedars-Sinai medical center.
The outmost goal of our research is to use stem cell therapy for treating retinal degeneration.

Research Interest

Retinal degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in humans. There are two strategies: one is to prevent photoreceptor loss at an early stage in the disease; the other is to rebuild retinal circuitry at later stages. A promising clinical application for stem cell transplantation is in rescue therapy for degenerative diseases. We have transplanted retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells to replace defective host RPE; cells releasing trophic factors to increase the efficiency of dysfunctional cells; cells with multiple functions such as stem cell-derived RPE cells, mesenchyme stem cells. These cells produced rescue of photoreceptor and a range of visual functions. Histological analyses showed no evidence of tumor formation or other untoward pathology.
We also demonstrated that MSCs offer extensive preservation of photoreceptors and limit the development of secondary vascular pathology when delivered intravenously.
The outmost goal of our research is to use stem cell therapy for treating retinal degeneration.