# Identifying Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Retinal Aging

> **NIH NIH F32** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $74,284

## Abstract

Project Summary
Aging is a progressive process in all cells that leads to tissue dysfunction and is a major cause of degenerative
changes. Aging cells show characteristic patterns of epigenetic changes that are often cell-type and tissue-
specific. The development of methylation-based clocks has harnessed this phenomenon and is successfully
used to predict the biological age of cells, tissues, and organisms across species. However, the functional
implications of these epigenetic changes are not well understood. Furthermore, bulk analyses of aging cells
limit the identification of subtle, unique, cell-type specific changes. Therefore, investigating cellular aging
mechanisms with single cell resolution is essential for teasing out these cell-type specific changes. Most
blinding diseases are a result of age-related retinal degeneration, for which there are currently no treatments. It
is essential to understand the molecular mechanisms that regulate retinal aging to identify targets and develop
therapeutics to slow or prevent the onset of these degenerative diseases. I propose to use approaches that
have previously been applied to studying retinal development and regeneration to conduct a comprehensive
analysis of normal retinal aging with single cell resolution to identify gene regulatory networks that control
cellular aging in the retina. I will determine how acute injury influences the rate of retinal aging, and test
potential retina specific aging targets to slow the aging process. I will manipulate expression of transcription
factors whose activity is altered by natural aging, injury, and/or rejuvenation, and determine whether this can
regulate cellular age. Completion of this work will create accurate cell type-specific molecular aging clocks for
all major retinal cell types, identify gene networks and targets that control cellular aging, and determine if
modulation of these networks can be used to rejuvenate cells. The datasets created in this work will not only
enhance the study of retinal aging, but cellular aging throughout the central nervous system in general.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11059039
- **Project number:** 5F32EY034759-02
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Isabella Palazzo
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $74,284
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-11 → 2026-09-10

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11059039

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11059039, Identifying Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Retinal Aging (5F32EY034759-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-08-17 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11059039. Licensed CC0.

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