Team leader
The Retinal Genomics and Therapy research group at the Lions Eye Institute was established in 2016 by Dr Livia Carvalho and Emeritus Professor David Hunt. It is one of the core research groups at the Institute and the group’s work is integral to the Institute’s genetic eye disease and gene therapy strategic research initiatives.
The research collaboration between Dr Carvalho and Professor Hunt dates back almost 20 years to when Dr Carvalho pursed her PhD studies in Professor Hunt’s lab at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology in London. They share a strong interest in retinal and photoreceptor biology in health and disease from a genetic, cellular and functional perspective.
More specifically, with a focus on the cells responsible for our daylight and colour vision, the cone photoreceptors, our group currently focusses on research programs spanning inherited retinal disease mechanisms, cone photoreceptor development in health and disease, AAV-based gene-specific and gene-independent treatments for inherited vision loss, and the genetics basis of myopia development.
