Research Interests


  • The role of the innate immune system in regulating pathologic angiogenesis
  • The effects of senescence on macrophage gene regulation
  • Oxidative stress, inflammation and the regulation of cell death in models of macular degeneration
  • Regulation of photoreceptor cell death by inflammation
  • The role of innate immune cells in aging and disease
  • Molecular regulation of uveitis
  • The role of microRNAs in aging and age-related eye pathologies
  • Molecular mechanisms in retinal microglia contributing to eye pathologies


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Lab News

Follow @ApteLab on Twitter for the most up to date news!

5-15-23: Welcome MSTP student, Alex Liu, who is rotating in the lab.

5-1-2023: Congratulations Research Technician II, Dan Du, on acceptance into the MSTP at John’s Hopkins!

4-24-2023: Congratulations, Neuroscience graduate student Chas Pfeifer on winning the prestigious ARVO IM Cora Verhagen Award!

4-20-2023: Visit us at ARVO 2023! The presentation schedule for all department members can be found here.

4-10-2023: Welcome to our newest Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dr. Taku Yamamoto, MD, PhD!

3-3-23: Congratulations, MSTP graduate student Joseph Lin, who was awarded the 2023 National Eye Institute (NEI) ARVO travel grant! Story here.

3-1-23: Welcome new Sr. Research Technician, Shinobu Smithson!

1-3-2023: Our latest publication is now available in PNAS: Dry eye disease in mice activates adaptive corneal epithelial regeneration distinct from constitutive renewal in homeostasis“.  Congratulations to first author Joseph Lin, MSTP graduate student!

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2204134120

Current Projects:

  • Investigating the mechanisms underlying photoreceptor cell death in models of retinal disease
  • Investigating the role of the innate immune system in regulating angiogenesis
  • Analyzing the macrophage transcriptome and its effects on aging
  • Examining the mechanisms responsible for changes in macrophage cell metabolism that may contribute to blinding diseases of the eye
  • Using tissue specific deletion of soluble and membrane expressed molecular activators of myeloid cell function in order to define the role of these cells in regulating post-developmental angiogenesis and retinal photoreceptor cell demise
  • Elucidating the role of resident microglia in retinal pathologies
  • Examining circadian rhythm in retinal immune cells
  • Studying the role of senescence and physiologic aging and their contribution to age-associated eye diseases