Rachel Fischer
University of St. Thomas
Rebecca Sappington lab
The main focus of the Sappington lab is glaucoma. Vision loss in glaucoma is caused by the degeneration of retinal ganglion cells and their axons that form the optic nerve. This degeneration tends to occur in clusters of neighboring cells that leads to a characteristic pattern of vision loss. The goal of Rachel's research project is to identify signals between cells that contribute to this spatial progression of the disease and has the potential to identify novel therapeutics that slow progression and preserve vision.