Assistant Professor
OU Health Dean McGee Eye Institute - Oklahoma Health Center 608 Stanton L Young Blvd Oklahoma City, OK 73104
Dr. Bennett’s primary research interests are in understanding photoreceptor degeneration and the factors influencing inherited retinal degeneration (IRD). Her laboratory utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to evaluate the effects of genetic mutations in IRD, including clinical and molecular testing, genomic analytics, in vitro variant testing, bioinformatics, inducible pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), and transcript/proteomics. Laboratory’s goals are (1) to obtain a better understanding of the role of genetic mutations in the clinical etiology of IRD, (2) to develop and evaluate molecular assays to determine variant pathogenicity, (3) to improve approaches for iPSC differentiation to human retinal organoids, and (4) to evaluate mechanisms of retinal degeneration in patient-derived retinal eyecups.