Ryo Terao, MD, PhD
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
St. Louis, Missouri
PROJECT TITLE: Dysregulated Lipid Metabolism and Senescence in Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Dr. Terao received his MD from the University of Tsukuba, Japan and completed his internship at the University of Tsukuba Hospital. He trained as a resident in the University of Tokyo Hospital Japan. He then earned his PhD from the Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan, under the supervision of Makoto Aihara, MD, PhD. Dr. Terao began training in basic science as a graduate student in the Department of Ophthalmology, focusing on bioactive lipid mediators in retinal diseases. This sparked his interest in how lipid metabolism affects retinal diseases. Throughout the PhD program, he has published several articles on bioactive lipids in retina.
Dr. Terao has received the Japanese Ophthalmological Society (JOS) Young Investigator Award, as well as the Bayer Japan Retina Award in 2020. After graduating in 2020, he joined the lab of Rajendra S. Apte, MD, PhD at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis as a postdoctoral research fellow. Dr. Apte currently holds the Paul A. Cibis Distinguished Professorship in the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and will mentor Dr. Terao during his tenure.
As the IRRF 2021 Alston Callahan MD, Postdoctoral Scholar, Dr. Terao will investigate the lipid metabolism dysregulation and cellular aging and senescence, to uncover how abnormalities in lipid substrates cause retinal dysfunction, and how they are important in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration. Says Dr. Apte, “These studies are unique and will provide novel insights into molecular pathways in order to develop targeted therapeutics in AMD.”