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.
