Baerbel Rohrer, PhD
Associate Professor
Contact Information
rohrer@musc.edu
843.792.5086
843.792.2166 (Lab)
Education
BS, Biology, 1991, University of Tübingen, Germany
PhD, Visual Neuroscience, 1995, University of Calgary, AB, Canada
Research Interests
My lab is using transgenic animal models (mice and Xenopus laevis; classical
and conditional knockouts, transgenics and silencing RNA) and retina-derived
cell lines to study the roles of neurotrophins and their receptors in the development
and function of retinal networks and their relevance to retinal pathology and
neuroprotective therapies.
We are using molecular tools (microarrays, quantitative RT-PCR) to quantitate changes in gene expression during the pathological changes; electrophysiology (recording both from the retina and the projection areas in visual cortex) to monitor the progression of pathology or the reversal due to pharmacological intervention; as well as histology and cell-based assays to document the cellular changes.