Jane Sowden

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Jane Sowden
Born
Jane Caroline Sowden
Alma materUniversity of Oxford (BA)
University College London (PhD)
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity College London
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust
ThesisTranscriptional control mechanisms regulating erythroid-specific expression of the carbonic anhydrase I gene (1991)
Doctoral studentsAdam Rutherford[1]
Websiteiris.ucl.ac.uk/iris/browse/profile?upi=JSOWD52 Edit this at Wikidata

Jane Caroline Sowden is a British biologist who is Professor of Developmental Biology and Genetics at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust.[2][3] Her research investigates eye formation and repair by developing a better understanding the genetic pathways that regulate eye development.

Early life and education[edit]

Sowden was an undergraduate in biochemistry at the University of Oxford.[4] She moved to University College London for her doctorate where she studied the carbonic anhydrase I gene.[5]

Research and career[edit]

After her PhD, Sowden moved to the Medical Research Council (MRC) human biochemical genetics unit. She was awarded a career development award in 1996, and spent four years working on retinal development at the Institute of Ophthalmology.[4] Sowden established the eye development and repair research group[6] at Great Ormond Street Hospital.[4] She looks to understand the genetic pathways that underpin eye development. She is interested in how these pathways are disrupted in patients with eye disease.[7] To explore these pathways, Sowden uses DNA sampling.[7] Childhood blindness can involve structural malformations, which occur due do disruption of biological processes.[7] The eye globe develops before birth from the embryonic optic cup. Mutations of the CHX10 gene can cause non-syndromic microphthalmia. By studying mice with CHX10 mutations Sowden looks to identify the molecular pathways that regulate relevant retinal progenitor cells. These cells undergo a number of cell divisions before producing all retinal neurons. Sowden has explored whether stem cells can be used to repair diseased retinal neurons during retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa.[7] She has explored whether the ciliary epithelium can be used to generate progenitor cells for photoreceptors. She has shown that the developing retina contains a population of rod photoreceptor precursor cells, which can be transplanted into a diseased retina to restore vision.[7][8][9]

Her former doctoral students include Adam Rutherford.[1]

Selected publications[edit]

Her publications[2][3] include:

  • Restoration of vision after transplantation of photoreceptors[10]
  • Retinal repair by transplantation of photoreceptor precursors[11]
  • Fox's in development and disease[12]
  • Photoreceptor precursors derived from three-dimensional embryonic stem cell cultures integrate and mature within adult degenerate retina[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Rutherford, Adam David (2002). The role of CHX10 in the development of the mammalian retina. london.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University College London (University of London). OCLC 498845531. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.252265.
  2. ^ a b Jane Sowden publications indexed by Google Scholar Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ^ a b Jane Sowden publications from Europe PubMed Central
  4. ^ a b c "Professor Jane Sowden". norriedisease.org.uk. The Norrie Disease Foundation. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  5. ^ Sowden, Jane Caroline (1991). Transcriptional control mechanisms regulating erythroid-specific expression of the carbonic anhydrase I gene. london.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of London. OCLC 1169933493.
  6. ^ UCL (2018-06-01). "Eye Development and Repair Group". UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  7. ^ a b c d e UCL (2018-09-06). "IRIS Profile Jane Sowden". UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  8. ^ Coghlan, Andy (2010-09-22). "Retinal cone cells transplanted into blind mice". newscientist.com. New Scientist. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  9. ^ "New research shows reversing sight loss could be possible". macularsociety.org. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  10. ^ Rachael A. Pearson; A C Barber; M Rizzi; et al. (1 May 2012). "Restoration of vision after transplantation of photoreceptors". Nature. 485 (7396): 99–103. doi:10.1038/NATURE10997. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 3888831. PMID 22522934. Wikidata Q37466380.
  11. ^ R E MacLaren; R A Pearson; A MacNeil; et al. (1 November 2006). "Retinal repair by transplantation of photoreceptor precursors". Nature. 444 (7116): 203–207. doi:10.1038/NATURE05161. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 17093405. Wikidata Q34580415.
  12. ^ Ordan J Lehmann; Jane C Sowden; Peter Carlsson; Tim Jordan; Shomi S Bhattacharya (1 June 2003). "Fox's in development and disease". Trends in Genetics. 19 (6): 339–344. doi:10.1016/S0168-9525(03)00111-2. ISSN 0168-9525. PMID 12801727. Wikidata Q34205134.
  13. ^ Anai Gonzalez-Cordero; Emma L West; Rachael A. Pearson; et al. (21 July 2013). "Photoreceptor precursors derived from three-dimensional embryonic stem cell cultures integrate and mature within adult degenerate retina". Nature Biotechnology. 31 (8): 741–747. doi:10.1038/NBT.2643. ISSN 1087-0156. PMC 3826328. PMID 23873086. Wikidata Q37304490.
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