Kaustabh Ghosh
Associate Professor-in-Residence, Ophthalmology, University of California Los Angeles
ghoshk@ucla.edu
323-342-7164
Doheny Eye Institute, Rm 417
1355 San Pablo St
Los Angeles, CA 90033 Stein Eye Institute BH-755C
100 Stein Plaza Driveway
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Affiliations
Member, Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology GPB Home Area
Principal Investigator, Doheny Eye Institute
Principal Investigator, Doheny Eye Institute
Research Interests
Our research aims to understand the mechanobiology of vascular inflammation and degeneration in eye diseases, specifically diabetic retinopathy (DR) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Currently, DR and AMD are clinically managed only in their advanced stages that are marked by excessive multiplication and leakiness of blood vessels in the inner and outer retina, respectively. However, there is growing recognition that more effective treatment of these conditions is possible by tackling them in the early stages when these blood vessels degenerate. We are taking a multidisciplinary approach to understand and prevent this early loss of blood vessels in diabetes and aging. Integrating the principles of vascular biology, mechanobiology, inflammation, and bioengineering, our work has introduced a new paradigm that implicates vascular ‘stiffness’ as a crucial determinant of vascular degeneration associated with early DR and AMD. Our ongoing studies aim to identify the factors that alter vascular stiffness in the eye and uncover the mechanobiological mechanisms by which altered stiffness causes vascular loss in diabetes and aging. These studies, performed in collaboration with ophthalmologists and funded by the National Eye Institute/NIH, have the potential to identify new classes of drugs that restore normal vascular stiffness and function in the eye and thereby block DR and AMD progression in their early stages.
Biography:
Dr. Ghosh is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at UCLA and a Principal Investigator at the Doheny Eye Institute. His vascular mechanobiology lab aims to integrate the principles of biology and engineering to develop effective therapies for vision-threatening diseases, specifically diabetic retinopathy (DR) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). His research has been funded by extramural grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), BrightFocus Foundation, and Hellman Foundation. Prior to joining UCLA and the Doheny Eye Institute in 2019, he was an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at UC Riverside. Prof. Ghosh did his postdoctoral training in vascular mechanobiology at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Stony Brook University, and obtained his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Warangal, India.
Publications
A selected list of publications:
- Cabrera Andrea P, Stoddard Jonathan, Santiago Tierno Irene, Matisioudis Nikolaos, Agarwal Mahesh, Renner Lauren, Palegar Neha, Neuringer Martha, McGill Trevor, Ghosh Kaustabh Increased cell stiffness contributes to complement-mediated injury of choroidal endothelial cells in a monkey model of early age-related macular degeneration The Journal of pathology, 2022; .
- Mohan Rohith R, Cabrera Andrea P, Harrison Reed E S, Gorham Ronald D, Johnson Lincoln V, Ghosh Kaustabh, Morikis Dimitrios Peptide redesign for inhibition of the complement system: Targeting age-related macular degeneration Molecular vision, 2016; 22(14): 1280-1290.
- Cabrera Andrea P, Bhaskaran Arun, Xu Jun, Yang Xiao, Scott Harry A, Mohideen Umar, Ghosh Kaustabh Senescence Increases Choroidal Endothelial Stiffness and Susceptibility to Complement Injury: Implications for Choriocapillaris Loss in AMD Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 2016; 57(14): 5910-5918.
- Scott Harry A, Quach Boi, Yang Xiao, Ardekani Soroush, Cabrera Andrea P, Wilson Randall, Messaoudi-Powers Ilhem, Ghosh Kaustabh Matrix stiffness exerts biphasic control over monocyte-endothelial adhesion via Rho-mediated ICAM-1 clustering Integrative biology : quantitative biosciences from nano to macro, 2016; 8(8): 869-78.
- Monickaraj Finny, McGuire Paul G, Nitta Carolina Franco, Ghosh Kaustabh, Das Arup Cathepsin D: an Mϕ-derived factor mediating increased endothelial cell permeability with implications for alteration of the blood-retinal barrier in diabetic retinopathy FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 2016; 30(4): 1670-82.
- Yang Xiao, Scott Harry A, Monickaraj Finny, Xu Jun, Ardekani Soroush, Nitta Carolina F, Cabrera Andrea, McGuire Paul G, Mohideen Umar, Das Arup, Ghosh Kaustabh Basement membrane stiffening promotes retinal endothelial activation associated with diabetes FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 2016; 30(2): 601-11.
- Ardekani Soroush, Scott Harry A, Gupta Sharad, Eum Shane, Yang Xiao, Brunelle Alexander R, Wilson Sean M, Mohideen Umar, Ghosh Kaustabh Nanoliposomal Nitroglycerin Exerts Potent Anti-Inflammatory Effects Scientific reports, 2015; 5(2): 16258.
- Adini Irit, Ghosh Kaustabh Mouse Retinal Whole Mounts and Quantification of Vasculature Protocol Bio-protocol, 2015; 5(15): 16258.
- Adini Irit, Ghosh Kaustabh, Adini Avner, Chi Zai-Long, Yoshimura Takeru, Benny Ofra, Connor Kip M, Rogers Michael S, Bazinet Lauren, Birsner Amy E, Bielenberg Diane R, D’Amato Robert J Melanocyte-secreted fibromodulin promotes an angiogenic microenvironment The Journal of clinical investigation, 2014; 124(1): 425-36.
- Ghosh Kaustabh, Thodeti Charles K, Dudley Andrew C, Mammoto Akiko, Klagsbrun Michael, Ingber Donald E Tumor-derived endothelial cells exhibit aberrant Rho-mediated mechanosensing and abnormal angiogenesis in vitro Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2008; 105(32): 11305-10.
- Ghosh Kaustabh, Ingber Donald E Micromechanical control of cell and tissue development: implications for tissue engineering Advanced drug delivery reviews, 2007; 59(13): 1306-18.
- Ghosh Kaustabh, Pan Zhi, Guan E, Ge Shouren, Liu Yajie, Nakamura Toshio, Ren Xiang-Dong, Rafailovich Miriam, Clark Richard A F Cell adaptation to a physiologically relevant ECM mimic with different viscoelastic properties Biomaterials, 2007; 28(4): 671-9.