Research Publications
Welcome to the Meyer Stem Cell Lab's research publications page. Here, we provide a list of our latest publications in the field of stem cell research in neurodegeneration for glaucoma, Alzheimer's disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders.
A human pluripotent stem cell triculture platform to elucidate microglial regulation of retinal ganglion cells in neuroinflammation
Jade Harkin, Cátia Gomes, Reham Afify, Shruti V Patil, Shelby M Hetzer, Kaylee D Tutrow, Kiersten H Peña, Aaron Baker, Sailee S Lavekar, Kang-Chieh Huang, Jason S Meyer
PNAS. 2026 Aug 25;123(34):e2522958123. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2522958123
Alzheimer's disease-associated PLCG2 variants alter microglial state and function in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived micoglia-like cells
Logan Bedford, Kaylee D. Tutrow, Karly Hooper, Evan J. Messenger, Melody Hernandez, Bruce T. Lamb, Jason S. Meyer, Timothy I. Richardson, Stephanie J. Bissel
Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Oct;21(10):e70772. doi: 10.1002/alz.70772.
Modeling human retinal ganglion cell axonal outgrowth, development, and pathology using pluripotent stem cell-based microfluidic platforms
Cátia Gomes, Kang-Chieh Huang, Sailee S. Lavekar, Jade Harkin, Carson G. Prosser, Yue Fang, Claire Kalem, Adrian Oblak, Chi Zhang, Jason S. Meyer
Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2025 Sep 16;122(37):e2423682122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2423682122.
Ref-1 is overexpressed in neovascular eye disease and targetable with a novel inhibitor
Anbukkarasi Muniyandi, Gabriella D Hartman, Kamakshi Sishtla, Ratan Rai, Cátia Gomes, Kristina Day, Yang Song, Andi R Masters, Sara K Quinney, Xiaoping Qi, Hailey Woods, Michael E Boulton, Jason S Meyer, Jonah Z Vilseck, Millie M Georgiadis, Mark R Kelley, Timothy W Corson
Angiogenesis. 2025 Jan 5;28(1):11. doi: 10.1007/s10456-024-09966-0.
Exploring dysfunctional barrier phenotypes associated with glaucoma using a human pluripotent stem cell-based model of the neurovascular unit
Sailee Lavekar, Jason Hughes, Cátia Gomes, Jade Harkin, Scott Canfield, Jason S. Meyer
Fluids Barriers CNS. 2024 Nov 14;21(1):90. doi: 10.1186/s12987-024-00593-x.
Acquisition of neurodegenerative features in isogenic OPTN(E50K) human stem cell-derived retinal ganglion cells associated with autophagy disruption & mTORC1 reduction
Kang-Chieh Huang, Cátia Gomes, Yukihiro Shiga, Nicolas Belforte, Kiratin B. VanderWall, Sailee S Lavekar, Clarisse M. Fligor, Jade Harkin, Shelby Hetzer, Shruti V. Patil, Adriana Di Polo, Jason S. Meyer
Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2024 Oct 18;12(1):164.doi: 10.1186/s40478-024-01872-2.
Induction of astrocyte reactivity promotes neurodegeneration in human pluripotent stem cell models
Cátia Gomes, Kang-Chieh Huang, Jade Harkin, Aaron Baker, Jason M. Hughes, Yanling Pan, Kaylee Tutrow, Kirstin B. VanderWall, Sailee S. Lavekar, Melody Hernandez, Theodore R. Cummins, Scott G. Canfield, Jason S. Meyer
Stem Cell Reports 2024 Aug 1; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2024.07.002.
A highly reproducible and efficient method for retinal organoid differentiation from human pluripotent stem cells
Harnessing diversity to study Alzheimer's disease: A new iPSC resource from the NIH CARD and ADNI
Laurel A Screven, Caroline B Pantazis, Katherine M Andersh, Samantha Hong, Dan Vitale, Erika Lara, Ray Yueh Ku, Peter Heutink, Jason Meyer, Kelley Faber, Kwangski Nho, Andrew J Saykin, Tatiana M Foroud, Mike A Nalls, Cornelis Blauwendraat, Andrew Singleton, Priyanka S Narayan
Neuron. 2024 Mar 6;112(5):694-697. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.01.026.
Development of a three-dimensional organoid model to explore early retinal phenotypes associated with Alzheimer's disease
Sailee S. Lavekar, Jade Harkin, Melody Hernandez, Cátia Gomes, Shruti Patil, Kang-Chieh Huang, Shweta S. Puntambekar, Bruce T. Lamb, Jason S. Meyer
Scientific Reports, 2023 Aug 24;13(1):13827. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-40382-4.
The importance of unambiguous cell origin determination in neuronal repopulation studies
Thomas V Johnson, David J Calkins, Brad Fortune, Jeffrey L Goldberg, Anna La Torre, Deepak A Lamba, Jason S Meyer, Thomas A Reh, Valerie A Wallace, Donald J Zack, Petr Baranov
iScience. 2023 Mar 9;26(4):106361. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106361. eCollection 2023 Apr 21.
Enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis promotes neuroprotection in human pluripotent stem cell derived retinal ganglion cells
Michelle Surma, Kavitha Anbarasu, Sayanta Dutta, Leonardo J Olivera Perez, Kang-Chieh Huang, Jason S. Meyer, Arupratan Das
Communications Biology 2023; 6(1):218. doi: 10.1038/s42003-023-04576-w.
Astrocytes modulate neurodegenerative phenotypes associated with glaucoma in OPTN(E50K) human stem cell-derived retinal ganglion cells
Cátia Gomes*, Kirstin B. VanderWall*, Yanling Pan, Xiaoyu Lu, Sailee S. Lavekar, Kang-Chieh Huang, Clarisse M. Fligor, Jade Harkin, Chi Zhang, Theodore R. Cummins, Jason S. Meyer
Stem Cell Reports 2022; 17(7):1636-1649. doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2022.05.006.
Extension of retinofugal projections in an assembled model of human pluripotent stem cell-derived organoids
Clarisse M Fligor, Sailee S Lavekar, Jade Harkin, Priya K Shields, Kirstin B VanderWall, Kang-Chieh Huang, Cátia Gomes, Jason S. Meyer
Stem Cell Reports 2022; 16(9):2228-2241. doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2021.05.009
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Retinal Ganglion Cells With a Glaucoma OPTN(E50K) Mutation Exhibit Neurodegenerative Phenotypes when Derived from Three-Dimensional Retinal Organoids
Kirstin B VanderWall, Kang-Chieh Huang, Yanling Pan, Sailee S Lavekar, Clarisse M Fligor, Anna R Allsop, Kelly A Lentsch, Pengtao Dang, Chi Zhang, Henry C Tseng, Theodore R Cummins, Jason S Meyer
Stem Cell Reports 2020; 15(1):52-66. doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2020.05.009.
Glaucoma as a Neurodegenerative Disease Caused by Intrinsic Vulnerability Factors
Ana Artero-Castro, Francisco Javier Rodriguez-Jimenez, Pavla Jendelova, Kirstin B VanderWall, Jason S Meyer, Slaven Erceg
Progress in Neurobiology 2020; 193:101817. doi: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2020.101817.
Mouse g-synuclein promoter-mediated gene expression and editing in mammalian retinal ganglion cells
Qizhao Wang, Pei Zhuang, Haoliang Huang, Liang Li, Liang Liu, Hannah C Webber, Roopa Dalal, Leonand Siew, Clarisse M. Fligor, Kun-Che Chang, Michael Nahmou, Alexander Kreymerman, Yang Sun, Jason S. Meyer, Jeffrey L. Goldberg, Yang Hu
J. Neurosci 2020; 40(20):3896-3914. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0102-20-2020.
Energy metabolism and mitochondrial superoxide anion production in pre-symptomatic striatal neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells expressing mutant Huntingtin
James Hamilton, Tatiana Brustovetsky, Akshayalakshmi Sridhar, Yanling Pan, Theodore R. Cummins, Jason S. Meyer, Nickolay Brustovetsky
Mol Neurobiol 2020; 57(2): 668-684. doi: 10.1007/s12035-019-01734-2.
Advances in the differentiation of retinal ganglion cells from human pluripotent stem cells
Adv Exp Med Biol 2019; 1186:121-140. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-28471-8_5
Astrocytes Regulate the Development and Maturation of Retinal Ganglion Cells Derived from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Kirstin B VanderWall, Ridhima Vij, Sarah K Ohlemacher, Akshayalakshmi Sridhar, Clarisse M Fligor, Elyse M Feder, Michael C Edler, Anthony J Baucum 2nd, Theodore R Cummins, Jason S Meyer
Stem Cell Reports 2019; 12(2): 201-212. doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2018.12.010.
Three-Dimensional Retinal Organoids Facilitate the Investigation of Retinal Ganglion Cell Development, Organization and Neurite Outgrowth from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Clarisse M. Fligor, Kirstin B. Langer, Akshayalakshmi Sridhar, Yuan Ren, Priya K Shields, Michael C. Edler, Sarah K. Ohlemacher, Valentin M Sluch, Donald J Zack, Chi Zhang, Daniel M Suter, Jason S. Meyer
Scientific Reports 2018; 8(1):14520. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-32871-8.
Stepwise Differentiation of Retinal Ganglion Cells from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Enables Analysis of Glaucomatous Neurodegeneration
Sarah K. Ohlemacher, Akshayalakshmi Sridhar, Yucheng Xiao, Alexandra E. Hochstetler, Mansoor Sarfarazi, Theodore R. Cummins, Jason S. Meyer
Stem Cells 2016; 34(6): 1553-62. doi: 10.1002/stem.2356.
Loss of MITF expression during human embryonic stem cell differentiation disrupts retinal pigment epithelium development and optic vesicle cell proliferation
Capowski EE, Simonett JM, Clark EM, Wright LS, Howden SE, Wallace KA, Petelinsek AM, Pinilla I, Phillips MJ, Meyer JS, Schneider BL, Thomson JA, Gamm DM
Hum Mol Genet 2014; 23(23):6332-44. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddu351.
Generation of three-dimensional retinal tissue with functional photoreceptors from human iPSCs
Xiaofeng Zhong, Christian Gutierrez, Tian Xue, Christopher Hampton, M. Natalia Vergara, Li-Hui Cao, Ann Peters, Tea Soon Park, Elias T. Zambidis, Jason S. Meyer, David M. Gamm, Kin-Wai Yau, M. Valeria Canto-Soler
Nat Commun 2014; 5:4047. doi: 10.1038/ncomms5047.
Optic vesicle-like structures derived from human pluripotent stem cells facilitate a customized approach to retinal disease treatment
Jason S Meyer, Sara E Howden, Kyle A Wallace, Amelia D Verhoeven, Lynda S Wright, Elizabeth E Capowski, Isabel Pinilla, Jessica M Martin, Shulan Tian, Ron Stewart, Bikash Pattnaik, James A Thomson, David M Gamm
Stem Cells 2011; 29(8):1206-18. doi: 10.1002/stem.674.
Modeling early retinal development with human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells
Jason S Meyer, Rebecca L Shearer, Elizabeth E Capowski, Lynda S Wright, Kyle A Wallace, Erin L McMillan, Su-Chun Zhang, David M Gamm
Proc Natl Acad Sci 2009; 106(39):16698-703. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0905245106.
Regulation of prenatal human retinal neurosphere growth and cell fate potential by retinal pigment epithelium and Mash1
David M Gamm, Lynda S Wright, Elizabeth E Capowski, Rebecca L Shearer, Jason S Meyer, Hyun-Jung Kim, Bernard L Schneider, John Nicholas Melvan, Clive N Svendsen
Stem Cells 2008; 26(12):3182-93. doi: 10.1634/stemcells.2008-0300.