Lachke sees the new grant as a testament not only to Aryal’s skills
and perseverance in researching the genetics of eye development and
disease but also to the cycle of discovery and support that enables a
lab to function successfully.
“This grant will let a new graduate student, Sarah Coomson, continue
this important work,” said Lachke, a developmental biologist who
specializes in interdisciplinary genetic research involving the eye and
its associated defects. “That’s the cycle that keeps us going. With a
comparatively small—but nevertheless critical--amount of support from
the University for Sandeep’s work [a stipend of about $30,000 for one
year of his five years of doctoral studies], we were able to bring in
$1.6 million of support from the NIH.
“That’s a good investment in the education of diverse, talented
people. But, of course, aside from financial support, the process allows
students like Sandeep to make important research findings and to become
outstanding UD alumni, and that is truly priceless.”
Coomson, who came to UD last spring to join Lachke’s team, has been
working in the lab with Aryal in preparation for his departure. Using a
bioinformatics tool known as iSyTE, which Lachke developed, Coomson is
seeking to uncover the genetic interaction between two specific proteins
and how that interaction affects lens development in the eye.
“Cataracts [in which the lens is cloudy] are the leading cause of
blindness worldwide, so it is vital to understand the mechanisms by
which the lens becomes transparent,” Coomson said. “It is equally
crucial to identify aberrations in the expression of key lens factors in
eye disease.”
As an undergraduate at the University of Ghana in her home country,
Coomson said, she fell in love with her cell and molecular biology
courses and was fascinated by the idea that everything a living thing
does is done by the cells that make it up. She went on to earn a
master’s degree in molecular medicine at the University of Essex in
England and then searched for a doctoral program.
Coomson recently won first prize among graduate students in UD’s 2021
International Student Essay Contest, where she shared her perspectives
and experiences of being an international student at the University.
“With a curriculum for Ph.D. concentration in molecular biology and
genetics, coupled with state-of-the-art equipment for biological
research, UD has the perfect Ph.D. program in Biological Sciences which
suits my interest,” she said.
More about the research
Much of Lachke’s research focuses on the genetics of the eye lens, a
transparent tissue that refracts light onto the retina and allows clear
vision. Cataracts occur when the lens loses its transparency and impairs
eyesight. Although cataracts often occur as people age, they can also
occur at birth or in young children.
Researchers in Lachke’s lab use a bioinformatics-based tool he developed, Integrated Systems Tool for Eye gene discovery (iSyTE),
which predicts the genes associated with eye development and defects,
including cataract and microphthalmia (small eye). The interactive tool
is available to all clinicians, scientists and anyone who is interested
in studying eye development and disorders.
Using iSyTE and skills he learned in the use of mass spectrometry to
examine lens biology, Aryal began exploring a specific gene (called
Celf1) that makes a protein that is important in the cell. In looking
for other proteins that might be associated with Celf1 in the lens,
Aryal focused on the protein Elav11. His research later found for the
first time that removing the Elav11 gene resulted in cataract and small
eyes.
“By identifying the new gene Elav11 and showing that it’s linked to
eye defects, Sandeep made an exceptional impact,” Lachke said of Aryal,
who is from Nepal. “He is a prime example of how attracting outstanding
talents from all over the world makes our campus so special.”
Article by Ann Manser; photos by Evan Krape
Published March 23, 2021