Vision @ UCL

Prof Robin Ali

For further information please see Robin Ali's webpage

Departments

• Developmental Biology Unit ICH; UCL Institute of Child Health; UCL Institute of Ophthalmology

Research Interests

• Retinal Disorders; Inherited Retinal Degeneration; Gene Therapy; Experimental Ophthalmology; Retinal Cell Transplantation; Stem Cell Therapy; Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Collaborators

• Adrian Thrasher; Prof Robert MacLaren; Prof Gary Rubin; Fred Fitzke; Prof Andrew Stockman; Dr Jane Sowden; Dr James Bainbridge; Prof David Hunt; Shomi Bhattacharya; Rachael Pearson

Key Publications

• Effect of gene therapy on visual function in adults with Leber Congenital Amaurosis. JWB Bainbridge, AJ Smith, SE Barker, S Robbie, R Henderson, KS Balaggan, A Viswanathan, GE Holder, A Stockman, N Tyler, S Petersen-Jones, SS Bhattacharya, AJ Thrasher, FW Fitzke, BJ Carter, GS Rubin, AT Moore and RR Ali N Engl J Med. 2008; 358 (21): 2231-9

• Retinal repair by transplantation of photoreceptor precursors. RE MacLaren, RA Pearson, A MacNeil, RH Douglas, TE Salt, M Akimoto, A Swaroop, JC Sowden and RR Ali Nature 2006; 444 (7116): 203-207

• Effective gene therapy with non-integrating lentiviral vectors. RJ Yáñez-Muñoz, KS Balaggan, A MacNeil, S Howe, M Schmidt, AJ Smith, P Buch, RE MacLaren, PN Anderson, SE Barker, Y Durán, C Bartholomae, C Von Kalle, JR Heckenlively, C Kinnon, RR Ali and AJ Thrasher Nat. Med. 2006; 12 (3) :348-353

• Restoration of photoreceptor ultrastructure and function in retinal degeneration slow mice by gene therapy. RR Ali, G Sarra, C Stephens, M de Alwis, JWB Bainbridge, PM Munro, S Fauser, MB Reichel, C Kinnon, DM Hunt, SS Bhattacharya and AJ Thrasher Nat. Genet. 2000; 25 (3): 306-310

• Gene transfer into the mouse retina mediated by an adeno-associated viral vector. RR Ali, MB Reichel, AJ Thrasher, RJ Levinsky, C Kinnon, N Kanuga, DM Hunt and SS Bhattacharya Human Mol. Genet. 1996; 5 (5): 591-594

Current Funding

• BBSRC A study of the role of kb8.2, a novel potassium channel gene in retinal physiology and phototransduction DM Hunt, RR Ali, T Salt and A Webster

• BRPS Gene Therapy for RPE65: Support for assessment of subjects and optimisation of clinical trial protocol RR Ali, J Bainbridge and R MacLaren

• BRPS Clinical trial of gene Therapy for children with Leber's Congenital Amaurosis RR Ali and J Bainbridge

• European Union FP7: Gene therapy for severe inherited photoreceptor defects Workpackage: BPDE and AIPL1 RR Ali (collaborative grant of £2,300,00)

• European Union Integrated project: Functional genomics of the retina in health and disease Work package: Control of gene expression RR Ali

• European Union Network of excellence: Clinical Gene Therapy Work package: AAV standardisation RR Ali

• Fighting Blindness Ireland Equipment grant to support development of gene and cell therapies for the treatment of retinal degeneration RR Ali, J Bainbridge, R MacLaren

• Fight for Sight Gene-based induction of corneal endothelial cell replication: ex vivo and in vitro analysis RR Ali and F Larkin (studentship)

• Fight for Sight Isolation of rod precursors for photoreceptor regeneration JC Sowden and RR Ali

• National Institute for Health Research BMRC NIHR senior investigator award RR Ali

• National Institute for Health Research BMRC Support for BMRC theme of ocular surface disease research: Promoter - restricted induction of corneal endothelial cell replication: ex vivo analysis RR Ali and F Larkin

• National Institute for Health Research BMRC Support for gene therapy vector research RR Ali

• The Medical Research Council Pathology and treatment of mouse models of dominant retinal disease RR Ali, J Bainbridge, DM Hunt

• The Medical Research Council Developing stem cell therapies RR Ali, RE MacLaren and J Sowden

• The Royal Society Stem cell therapy and retinal degeneration Fellowship (R Pearson)

• Special Trustees Moorfields Eye Hospital Development of ocular gene therapy: towards a programme of clinical trials RR Ali, L Da Cruz and J Bainbridge

• The Wellcome Trust Cone photoreceptor rescue in inherited retinal degenerations Fellowship (E Lee)

• The Wellcome Trust UCL Gene Therapy Centre (Biomedical Resources Award) MC Collins, D Linch, A Nathwani, AJ Thrasher RR Ali, H Stauss

• The Wellcome Trust Retinal repair and Stem Cell Therapy: Mechanisms of photoreceptor precursor cell integration R Pearson and RR Ali

• The Wellcome Trust Molecular and cellular approaches to ocular angiogenesis Fellowship (J Bainbridge)

Other appointments and addiliations

Associations:

2005 - Royal Society of Medicine

2003 - British Society for Gene Therapy

2003 - European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy

2000 - American Society of Gene Therapy

1995 - Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology

Committees

2008 - Academy of Medical Sciences - Sectional Committee (Biochemistry, molecular biology, immunology, microbiology, genetics and developmental biology)

2007 - British Society for Gene Therapy – Program Organisation Committee

2007 - European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy – Scientific Committee on genetic and metabolic diseases