Wei-Hua Lee, PhD

Biography

Education:
BS 2003, Biology, National Taiwan Normal University
MS 2006, Biological Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
PhD 2012, Medical Science (Neuroscience), University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Research Interests:
Wei-Hua Lee, PhD was an assistant scientist of department of medical genetics at University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research interest was to understand the mitochondrial function and energy metabolism in the retina/RPE and identify the metabolic basis for retinal degenerative diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and inherited forms of retinal degeneration. The goal was to use this knowledge to prevent or slow down retinal degeneration in
patients.

Her specific vision-related research projects included:

• Identifying novel genes that cause early retinal aging and age-related macular degeneration in mouse models
• Metabolic, cellular and molecular alterations during dysregulation of mitochondrial dynamics in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells
• NAD+ precursors and knocking out PARP1 improve vision, retinal health, reduce inflammation, and enhance balance in aging mouse models
• Inflammation and neurodegeneration in mouse retina and CNS
• Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis in mouse models with RPE degeneration and an early sudden death phenotype
• Identifying novel genes that cause early retinal aging and age-related macular degeneration in mouse models
• Metabolic, cellular and molecular alterations during dysregulation of mitochondrial dynamics in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells
• NAD+ precursors and knocking out PARP1 improve vision, retinal health, reduce inflammation, and enhance balance in aging mouse models
• Inflammation and neurodegeneration in mouse retina and CNS
• Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis in mouse models with RPE degeneration and an early sudden death phenotype