About Us » FFB Funded Researchers
Dianna K. Hughbanks-Wheaton, M.S., Ph.D., c.
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Dianna has been an Assistant Research Scientist at the Retina Foundation of the Southwest for the past two years. She is Director of the Southwest Eye Registry and its DNA Processing Center which consolidates clinical and biochemical testing results with genetic mutation information of patients with retinal degenerative diseases. She has been with the Retina Foundation for 15 years and progressed from Biochemistry Research Assistant to her current Directorship position. She obtained her Master of Science degree in Genetic Counseling in 1999 from the University of North Texas and is an active member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. She has since completed all coursework and is a candidate for her Ph.D. in Health Studies, Community Health tract at Texas Woman’s University. Completion of her dissertation titled “Omega-3 fatty acid status in patients diagnosed with Usher syndrome: A descriptive study of red blood cell (RBC) docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) Levels in Usher subtypes” is anticipated for mid-2008. Her research interests range from the clinical characterization and identification of gene mutations in patients with degenerative retinal diseases to the role of dietary fatty acids in visual and neural function in both normal development and retinal disease. She combines these activities with the provision of genetic counseling services to individuals and families visiting the Retina Foundation. She is currently engaged in forming a national network of genetic counselors focused on diseases affecting the eye with a focus on retinal pathology. She has received financial support for her studies investigating the role of DHA in the pathogenesis of Usher syndrome from the Morrison Foundation and the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB). The FFB and the Perigrine Foundation also provide her support for designing a research protocol for early detection of retinal degeneration associated with Usher syndrome in hearing-impaired infants. Dianna has authored twenty-four full-length, peer-reviewed scientific papers in national and international journals as well as published and presented reports for forty-eight scientific abstracts. She holds active memberships in the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the International Society for Genetic Eye Diseases, the American Society of Human Genetics, and the National Society of Genetic Counselors. |
