About Us » FFB Funded Researchers
Shiming Chen, Ph.D.
|
Shiming Chen, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and of Developmental Biology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Chen spends most of her time in research and training graduate / undergraduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Her laboratory is studying the molecular mechanisms regulating photoreceptor gene expression, development and diseases using molecular genetics and biochemical tools. She has focused particularly on retinal transcription factors and their regulators that are linked to photoreceptor degenerative diseases. Dr. Chen received her Bachelor’s degree in biology from Beijing Capitol Normal University. She also obtained a Master’s degree in biochemistry from Peking University School of Medicine, China, where she studied genetic mutations linked to stomach cancer. Dr. Chen came to the United States in 1986 and earned her Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from State University of New York, Upstate Medical University at Syracuse, New York in 1992, studying transcriptional regulation of the GAL genes in yeast. She then decided to use her knowledge in transcription to study regulation of gene expression in the mammalian vision system. In 1992, Dr. Chen joined the laboratory of Dr. Donald J. Zack at Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, for her postdoctoral investigations on regulation of rhodopsin gene expression in the mammalian retina. Supported by two postdoctoral fellowships from Fight for Sight and National Eye Institute, Dr. Chen cloned the Crx gene that encodes the cone-rod homeobox protein, a key transcription regulator for photoreceptor cells. Crx mutations have been found to be associated with three photoreceptor diseases, cone-rod dystrophy, Leber’s congenital amaurosis and retinitis pigmentosa. Because of her excellent achievements, Dr. Chen received Albert L. Lehninger Prize for postdoctoral research from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1998. Dr. Chen joined the faculty of Washington University in early 1998 as an Assistant Professor. During her career development at WU, Dr. Chen received the career development award in 1998 and the Sybil B. Harrington Scholar award in 2003 from Research to Prevent Blindness. She is the principal investigator for a NIH-supported research, focusing on Crx and its regulatory network in retinal degenerations. She is also collaborating with investigators at Johns Hopkins University and University of Washington in Seattle to study other photoreceptor regulators related to photoreceptor development and disease. Dr. Chen has published more than 20 papers in top research journals since joining WU. She was promoted to Associated Professor with tenure in 2005. Dr. Chen received a 3-year FFB individual grant in 2006, which has been used to create new mouse models of cone-rod dystrophy and Leber’s congenital amaurosis caused by Crx-mutations. She plans to use these new mouse strains for investigating the molecular mechanisms of disease development, and as models to develop drug treatment regimens. |
