Project
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP) are among the leading causes of blindness. Protein based therapeutics hold promise to delay the onset of blindness for individuals with AMD and RP. Unfortunately, they possess limitations, including poor pharmacokinetic profiles, the need for frequent dosing, and off-target effects. The Shoichet Lab has developed a novel hyaluronan based hydrogel with properties that allow for injection into the eye. I will leverage my experience in protein chemistry and biophysics to engineer this hydrogel to stabilize and control the release of protein-based regenerative therapeutics. This functionalized hydrogel will allow for targeted and sustained release of therapeutics to the retina, thereby addressing key limitations and opening up new clinical opportunities.
Education
Post-Doctoral Fellow (2022 – Present)
Department of Chemical Engineering
University of Toronto
Doctor of Philosophy (2013 – 2018)
Biochemistry
McGill University
Select Publications
Labriola, J.M. and Miersch, S.M., et al. (2022) Peptide-Antibody Fusions Engineered by Phage Display Exhibit an Ultrapotent and Broad Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Variants. ACS Chemical Biology. DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.2c00411
Labriola, J. M., Zhou, Y., and Nagar, B. (2018) Structural Analysis of the Bacterial Effector AvrA Identifies a Critical Helix Involved in Substrate Recognition. Biochemistry 57, 4985–4996.
Hénault, C. M., Sun, J., Therien, J. P. D., daCosta, C. J. B., Carswell, C. L., Labriola, J. M., Juranka, P. F., and Baenziger, J. E. (2015) The role of the M4 lipid-sensor in the folding, trafficking, and allosteric modulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Neuropharmacology 96, 157–168.
Labriola, J. M., Pandhare, A., Jansen, M., Blanton, M. P., Corringer, P.-J., and Baenziger, J. E. (2013) Structural sensitivity of a prokaryotic pentameric ligand-gated ion channel to its membrane environment. J. Biol. Chem. 288, 11294–11303.