Staff

Allen Taylor, Ph.D., Laboratory Director
Senior Scientist and Professor, Nutrition, Biochemistry, and Ophthalmology
Research focus: relationships between oxidative stress, protein metabolism, nutrient intake and risk for cataract and age-related retinopathy

Fu Shang, Ph.D.
Scientist I
Research focus: effects of nutrition, oxidation, and aging on protein turnover in the lens; lens development and differentiation; development of models of age-and diabetes-related cataract

Chung-Jung Chiu, DDS, Ph.D.
Scientist III and Assistant Professor, Medicine
Research focus: relations between carbohydrate intake and metabolism and risk for age-related cataract and age-related retinal disease

Elizabeth Whitcomb, Ph.D.
Scientist III
Research focus: defining the function of specific ubiquitinating enzymes in regulation of cell division and differentiation in lens and retina cells/tissues; determining roles for the ubiquitin pathway in recognition and removal of damaged proteins.

Edward Dudek, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Research focus: effects of nutrition, oxidation, and protein degradation on etiology of age-related eye disorders; identification of lens or retinal substrates for the ubiquitin dependent pathway and of specific enzymes involved in the recognition of damaged proteins

Wangwang Jiao, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate
Research focus: nutrition and vision

Tomoaki Uchiki, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate
Research focus: Intracellular degradation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs); Asking how eukaryotic intracellular proteolytic systems handle stresses caused by protein-modifying agents produced during hyperglycemia.

Johnvesly Basappa, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Research focus: the role of the ubiquitin pathway in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation and protein quality in the lens.

Orna Avidan, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Research focus: the role of the ubiquitin pathway in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation and protein quality in the lens and retina.

Mingxing Wu, Ph.D. Visiting Scientist

Andrea Cáceres, B.A., Senior Research Technician

Karen McGuigan, B.S., Graduate Research Assistant

Qingning Bian, M.D., Visiting Graduate Research Assistant

Kacie Medvedik, B.A., Staff Assistant

For contact information, please click on the scientist's webpage or visit the Tufts University online directory at http://whitepages.tufts.edu/.

Learn More

For more information about the Nutrition and Vision Research Laboratory, please visit the USDA, Agricultural Research Service.

Out of Sight
Vision loss is an inevitable part of aging. What you eat could help forestall it.

A Link Between Carbohydrate Quality and Vision Loss is Strengthened by New Data

Low Carbs Better for Eyesight
Limiting refined carbohydrates may stall age-related macular degeneration.

Study: Some High-Sugar Foods Linked To Vision Loss
A recent study by Tufts nutrition researchers found that the development of age-related macular degeneration may be tied to over consumption of certain carbohydrates.