|
Dean Bok, Ph.D. is the first recipient and current holder of the Dolly Green Professorship in Ophthalmology and Distinguished Professor of Neurobiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Following his award of the Ph.D. degree from the UCLA School of Medicine in 1968, he was appointed to the faculty and has served as Associate Director of the Jules Stein Eye Institute and Vice Chair of the Department of Neurobiology. With his mentor, Dr. Richard Young, Dr. Bok discovered that the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) plays a role in the daily disposal (phagocytosis) of light-sensitive membranes that are shed by retinal photoreceptor cells. With his colleague, Dr. Michael Hall, he discovered that the RCS rat lacks the ability to carry out this phagocytic process and rapidly goes blind as a result of this defect. Dr. Bok has also played a major role in the elucidation of several critical steps in the visual cycle (retinoid cycle) of the eye. During the visual cycle, vitamin A (retinol) is extracted from a protein produced by the liver, called retinol-binding protein (RBP). With his colleague, Joram Heller, he discovered that the RPE produces a membrane receptor that carries out this process on its baslolateral surface. Recently, with his colleague, Hui Sun, the identification of the gene responsible for this important step was reported. In addition, with Robert Rando at Harvard, Dr. Bok identified the gene responsible for the esterification of retinol by the RPE. This is an essential step in the visual process, since retinyl esters are the substrates for the enzyme that isomerizes retinol, thereby preparing it for its role in rendering opsins, the photopigments of photoreceptors, light-sensitive. Collaborating with multiple colleagues, Dr. Bok has produced, characterized and used transgenic animal models in an attempt to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying inherited retinal diseases and to develop modes of treatment for these diseases. He participated with Dr. Michael Redmond in the characterization of the RPE-65 gene knockout mouse, which gave insight into identification of the retinol isomerase and also set the groundwork for the first promising retinal gene therapy trial in humans. With Dr. Gabriel Travis and Dr. Matthew LaVail, he has studied some of the peripherin/rds mutations underlying retinitis pigmentosa and has used CNTF-based gene therapy to successfully arrest the progression of disease in these animals. In addition to receiving 11 distinguished teaching awards from various schools and departments at UCLA, Dr. Bok has received several prestigious scientific awards and honors. He was the recipient of the Jonas Friedenwald Award from the Association for Research in Vision in Ophthalmology and the Paul Kayser Award from the International Society for Eye Research and Retinal Research Foundation. He has delivered the Craig Lecture and Edridge-Green Lectures in the United Kingdom and the Clement McCulloch Lecture, University of Toronto, Canada. He has served as Study Section Chair for the National Institutes of Health, and the Board of Scientific Counselors and has served on the National Advisory Eye Council of the National Eye Institute. He was the recipient of a 10-year NEI Merit Award in support of his research. Dr. Bok has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the FFB since 1988. |
