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Dr. Hemant Khanna obtained his Ph.D. in 2001 from the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, University of Delhi, India. His doctoral work identified the mechanism of action of anthrax toxin. Dr. Khanna received postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Professor Anand Swaroop at the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Michigan, where he studied the regulation of photoreceptor gene expression. He also examined the pathogenesis of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa due to mutations in RPGR. Recently, Dr. Khanna’s work as a junior research faculty has demonstrated the involvement of RPGR in ciliary functions and its interaction with ciliary disease proteins, including CEP290/NPHP6, which is mutated in Leber congenital amaurosis, Joubert Syndrome, and Meckel-Gruber Syndrome. Dr. Khanna currently focuses on investigating the mechanism of cilia/microtubule-based signaling cascades in photoreceptors with an aim to design efficient treatment modalities for associated retinal and macular degenerative diseases. Specifically, his research goal is to delineate the pathogenesis of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa and congenital retinal degenerative diseases due to mutations in ciliary proteins RPGR, RP2, and CEP290/PHP6 and design effective therapeutic strategies. This work is supported by grants from the National Eye institute, FFB and Midwest Eye-Banks and Transplantation Center. Dr. Khanna is also involved in teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students and currently has three postdoctoral fellows in his laboratory. He serves on the review committee of the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program of the University of Michigan and the Professional Development and Education Committee of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology |
