Colin Wu, associate professor, biochemistry, Mohamed Al-Shabrawey, founding director, OUWB Eye Research Center, and Ngong Kodiah Beyeh, associate professor, organic chemistry, are working on NIH-funded research that could lead to breakthroughs in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.
February 20, 2025
Mohamed Al-Shabrawey |
Treatment for eye damage caused by diabetes could improve for millions through a $375,000 National Institutes of Health grant received by researchers at Oakland University and OUWB.
The project is a collaboration between OUWB’s Eye Research Center and OU’s Department of Chemistry.
Mohamed Al-Shabrawey, founding director, ERC, is principal investigator. The other researchers are Colin Wu, Ph.D., associate professor, Biochemistry, and Ngong Kodiah Beyeh, Ph.D., associate professor, Organic Chemistry.
The research not only offers the possibility of improving quality of life for many but brings together the ERC and Department of Chemistry in a new way.
“I’m excited not only about the scientific part of this project, but also about the learning experience I’m expecting from this true collaboration with the other researchers,” says Al-Shabrawey.
Ngong Kodiah Beyeh |
Diabetic retinopathy is a severe neurovascular complication of diabetes. An estimated 34.2 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, a number that is expected to grow to 48.3 million by 2050.
That means the incidence of diabetic retinopathy, too, will rise dramatically.
Current therapies afford significant vision improvements, but side effects, costs, invasiveness, and the paucity of neuroprotection are critical barriers in clinical practice.
As a result, new or complementary treatment strategies are needed.
That is where the trio of researchers from OU and OUWB comes into play.
The two-year grant the team received will allow for investigation of novel receptors for bioactive lipids expressed in the retina, which may play a key role in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy and vision loss in diabetic patients.
Colin Wu |
In addition to studying the function and role of these receptors in diabetic retinopathy, the grant also aims to develop competitive macrocyclic receptor molecules that could mitigate the effects of these receptors and protect the retina from diabetes-induced damage.
“We are looking to find a new therapeutic strategy that is either complementary or replaces the current options altogether,” says Al-Shabrawey.
The team is collaborating on the project because each member brings something unique to the table.
Wu teaches biochemistry, advises students on their biochemistry research, and runs a lab that studies mechanisms of DNA repair. His expertise is on protein biochemistry and molecular biophysics.
Beyeh teaches organic chemistry, is a graduate program coordinator, and is a supramolecular chemist. His specialties include organic macrocycles and organic materials.
For this project, Wu and Beyeh will play a key role in studying the affinity of bioactive lipids for the proposed receptors in retinal cells under both normal and diabetic conditions. Additionally, they will work on developing macrocyclic receptor molecules to mitigate the harmful effects of bioactive lipids on retinal cells in diabetes and preserve visual function.
Al-Shabrawey says Wu and Beyeh are “crucial” for the project.
“Their contribution will be pivotal in identifying the affinity of specific bioactive lipids for the newly discovered receptors by my lab and expressed in the retina,” he says.
“Following this, they will assist in developing interventions that block the binding of these lipids to their receptors, with the goal of reducing the inflammatory effects caused by these metabolites in the retina under diabetic condition to preserve vision,” he adds.
Wu says he is excited about the collaboration.
“Being in a project like this, which I’m tremendously grateful for, allows me to apply my expertise in something completely different and get to learn about a whole new area of focus that I don’t normally see,” says Wu.
Beyeh says the project reminds him of something he constantly is telling students: “You cannot solve all the problems on your own, you need to work with other people.”
“Through collaboration, we can attain our goals faster,” he says. “I’m really excited about this collaborative project, happy that I was invited to join, and looking forward to how this will pan out.”