The Gamm Laboratory
Faculty > David M. Gamm
David M. Gamm
Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
dgamm@wisc.edu
Organ System/Disease Focus
Eye/retina, retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration
Aligned Research Focus
Human retinal development
Research Description
Inherited and acquired degenerative diseases of the retina are a significant cause of incurable vision loss worldwide. Closer to home, I see the impact of these diseases on afflicted individuals and their families in my pediatric ophthalmology practice at the University of Wisconsin. As such, my laboratory at the Waisman Center utilizes stem cell technology to 1) investigate the cellular and molecular events that occur during human retinal differentiation and 2) generate cells for use in human retinal disease modeling and cell-based rescue or replacement strategies. To meet these goals, we utilize a variety of human cell types, including ES and iPS cells, which have the capacity to mimic retinal development and disease, as well as to delineate the genetic "checkpoints" necessary to produce particular retinal cell types. By understanding the behavior of these cell types in vitro and in vivo, we hope to optimize strategies to delay or reverse the effects of blinding disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa and age–related macular degeneration.
Selected References
Phillips MJ, Wallace KA, Dickerson SJ, Miller, MJ, Verhoeven AD, Martin JM, Wright LS, Shen W, Capowskki EE, Percin EF, Perez ET, Zhong X, Canto-Soler MV, Gamm DM. Blood-derived human iPS cells generate optic vesicle-like structures with the capacity to form retinal laminae and develop synapses. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, in press.
Meyer JS, Howden SE, Wallace KA, Verhoeven AD, Wright LS, Capowski EE, Pinilla I, Martin JM, Tian S, Stewart R, Pattnaik B, Thomson JA, Gamm DM. Optic vesicle-like structures derived from human pluripotent stem cells facilitate a customized approach to retinal disease treatment. Stem Cells. 29(8):1206-1218, 2011.
Howden SE, Gore A, Li Z, Fung HL, Nisler BX, Nie J. Chen G, McIntosh BE, Gulbranson DR, Diol NR, Taapken SM, Vereide DT, Montgomery KD, Zhang K, Gamm DM, Thomson JA. Genetic correction and analysis of induced pluripotent stem cells from a patient with gyrate atrophy. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 108(16):6537-42, 2011.
Gamm DM and Meyer JS. Directed differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells: a retina perspective. Regen Med 5(3):315-317, 2010.
Meyer JS, Shearer RL, Capowski EE, Wright LS, McMillan EL, Zhang SC and Gamm DM. Modeling early retinal development with human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 106(39):16698-16703, 2009. [Commentary by Wang SZ. Tales of retinogenesis told by human stem cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 106(39):16543-16544, 2009.