Drs Lola Mugishu, Jie Zhang and Sachin Thakur and Frazer Cutinho at ARVO 2018. Picture by Dr Stuti Misra

Dr Lola Mugisho was awarded a Dean’s List placement from the University of Auckland in recognition of excellence achieved for her PhD thesis, Vascular breakdown in diabetic retinopathy: role of connexin43 and possible interventions.

Her PhD investigated the role connexin43 (a cell communication protein) plays in vascular breakdown in patients with diabetic retinopathy. The work resulted in five publications (two published and three submitted) and a provisional patent, and was highly commended by the examiners as a significant contribution to her research field and a step towards the development of a potential new drug treatment for diabetic retinopathy.

“One of the main findings was that inflammation is central to inducing diabetic retinopathy in hyperglycaemic models,” explained Dr Mugisho. “This was very significant because the current belief is that inflammation is merely a consequence of diabetes.”

She also discovered that diabetic retinopathy is associated with an increase in connexin43 expression and when the connexin43 hemichannels were blocked, she was able to prevent signs of inflammation and diabetic retinopathy. “Connexin43 hemichannel blockers could therefore be potential treatments for diabetic retinopathy and possibly other ocular diseases involving inflammatory processes,” she said. “Recent studies show that current treatments are limited in terms of non-responders and long-term side effects, mainly because of their inability to treat the underlying disease mechanisms. Therefore, our finding that connexin43 plays a role in the disease development and contributes earlier on in the disease process, opens up the possibility of treating diabetic retinopathy at its root cause.”

Dr Mugisho said she felt very honoured to have been placed on the Dean’s List (a recognition afforded to less than 5% of all PhD students at the University) and to have been awarded an Auckland Medical Research Foundation project grant to support her work for the next two years.

“After years of scepticism given the novelty of my thesis work, both achievements are justifications that our years of hard work have been valued.”

Dr Mugisho’s PhD was supervised by Dr Ilva Rupenthal, Professor Colin Green, Dr Monica Acosta and Dr Jie Zhan. Her current research will continue to evaluate connexin43 hemichannel blockers as a possible treatment for diabetic retinopathy in both animal models and human retinal explant cultures.

“My hope is to put a significant dent in the unknown regarding inflammatory ocular diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy,” she said. “Ultimately, my dream is to contribute to finding a cure for these diseases to relieve their heavy burden on our society.”

Dr Mugisho originally started her research journey in 2013 with an MSc from the Centre of Brain Research at Auckland University, after which she was employed by Prof Green to work on characterising vascular integrity in adenocarcinomas following treatment with the connexin43 hemichannel blocker, Tonabersat, which led to her interest in the protein. Her PhD was funded by a Buchanan Ocular Therapeutics Unit doctoral scholarship in the University’s Department of Ophthalmology.