Jane Caroline Sowden is a British biologist who is Professor of Developmental Biology and Genetics at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust.[2][3] Her research investigates eye formation and repair by developing a better understanding the genetic pathways that regulate eye development.
Jane Sowden | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jane Caroline Sowden |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford (BA) University College London (PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University College London Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust |
| Thesis | Transcriptional control mechanisms regulating erythroid-specific expression of the carbonic anhydrase I gene (1991) |
| Doctoral students | Adam Rutherford[1] |
| Website | iris |
Early life and education
editSowden was an undergraduate in biochemistry at the University of Oxford.[4] She moved to University College London for her doctorate where she studied the carbonic anhydrase I gene.[5]
Research and career
editAfter her PhD, Sowden moved to the Medical Research Council (MRC) human biochemical genetics unit. She was awarded a career development award in 1996, and spent four years working on retinal development at the Institute of Ophthalmology.[4] Sowden established the eye development and repair research group[6] at Great Ormond Street Hospital.[4] She looks to understand the genetic pathways that underpin eye development. She is interested in how these pathways are disrupted in patients with eye disease.[7] To explore these pathways, Sowden uses DNA sampling.[7] Childhood blindness can involve structural malformations, which occur due do disruption of biological processes.[7] The eye globe develops before birth from the embryonic optic cup. Mutations of the CHX10 gene can cause non-syndromic microphthalmia. By studying mice with CHX10 mutations Sowden looks to identify the molecular pathways that regulate relevant retinal progenitor cells. These cells undergo a number of cell divisions before producing all retinal neurons. Sowden has explored whether stem cells can be used to repair diseased retinal neurons during retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa.[7] She has explored whether the ciliary epithelium can be used to generate progenitor cells for photoreceptors. She has shown that the developing retina contains a population of rod photoreceptor precursor cells, which can be transplanted into a diseased retina to restore vision.[7][8][9]
Her former doctoral students include Adam Rutherford.[1]
Selected publications
editHer publications[2][3] include:
- Restoration of vision after transplantation of photoreceptors[10]
- Retinal repair by transplantation of photoreceptor precursors[11]
- Fox's in development and disease[12]
- Photoreceptor precursors derived from three-dimensional embryonic stem cell cultures integrate and mature within adult degenerate retina[13]
References
edit- ^ a b Rutherford, Adam David (2002). The role of CHX10 in the development of the mammalian retina. london.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University College London (University of London). OCLC 498845531. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.252265.
- ^ a b Jane Sowden publications indexed by Google Scholar
- ^ a b Jane Sowden publications from Europe PubMed Central
- ^ a b c "Professor Jane Sowden". norriedisease.org.uk. The Norrie Disease Foundation. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
- ^ Sowden, Jane Caroline (1991). Transcriptional control mechanisms regulating erythroid-specific expression of the carbonic anhydrase I gene. london.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of London. OCLC 1169933493.
- ^ UCL (2018-06-01). "Eye Development and Repair Group". UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
- ^ a b c d e UCL (2018-09-06). "IRIS Profile Jane Sowden". UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
- ^ Coghlan, Andy (2010-09-22). "Retinal cone cells transplanted into blind mice". newscientist.com. New Scientist. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
- ^ "New research shows reversing sight loss could be possible". macularsociety.org. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
- ^ Rachael A. Pearson; A C Barber; M Rizzi; et al. (1 May 2012). "Restoration of vision after transplantation of photoreceptors". Nature. 485 (7396): 99–103. doi:10.1038/NATURE10997. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 3888831. PMID 22522934. Wikidata Q37466380.
- ^ R E MacLaren; R A Pearson; A MacNeil; et al. (1 November 2006). "Retinal repair by transplantation of photoreceptor precursors". Nature. 444 (7116): 203–207. doi:10.1038/NATURE05161. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 17093405. Wikidata Q34580415.
- ^ Ordan J Lehmann; Jane C Sowden; Peter Carlsson; Tim Jordan; Shomi S Bhattacharya (1 June 2003). "Fox's in development and disease". Trends in Genetics. 19 (6): 339–344. doi:10.1016/S0168-9525(03)00111-2. ISSN 0168-9525. PMID 12801727. Wikidata Q34205134.
- ^ Anai Gonzalez-Cordero; Emma L West; Rachael A. Pearson; et al. (21 July 2013). "Photoreceptor precursors derived from three-dimensional embryonic stem cell cultures integrate and mature within adult degenerate retina". Nature Biotechnology. 31 (8): 741–747. doi:10.1038/NBT.2643. ISSN 1087-0156. PMC 3826328. PMID 23873086. Wikidata Q37304490.