Bio

Mohamed is graduate student researcher in the Neuroscience Research Institute. He received his MS. September 2017 in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics from California State University Channel Islands and B.S. March 2014 in Forensic Biology from University of Toronto. His graduate studies focus on inherited retinal diseases and stem cell derived therapies.

Research

Patient derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) provide an invaluable tool to understand diseases affecting the body and dissecting affected molecular pathways. 

My research aims include 1. Characterizing an in-vitro cellular model of several retinal diseases using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells. By differentiating diseased stem cells into varying cell types of the retina through 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional (organoids) methods, genetic and functional analyses can be performed to elucidate functional and molecular differences between a healthy and diseased environment. 2. Current stem cell derived ocular therapies include culturing retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) on biodegradable/polymer substrates. However, most retinal diseases impact not only the RPE but also the closely associated adjacent photoreceptors. We aim to develop a co-culture system to treat both the dysfunctional RPE and afflicted photoreceptors.