Symposium Speaker

Deborah Ferrington

Dr. Deborah Ferrington is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota. She is also a member of the graduate faculty for the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics and the Gerontology Minor Program. Dr. Ferrington holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences and a Masters in Education from the University of Pittsburgh. She was awarded a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Kansas. Dr. Ferrington is currently a member of the editorial boards for Experimental Eye Research and for Aging Cell.

Dr. Ferrington’s research is focused on defining the molecular changes in proteins (expression and oxidation state) and mitochondrial DNA that occur with aging and age-related diseases. One research area involves investigating the molecular events that occur at early stages of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Information garnered from these investigations will supply important molecular details about the disease mechanism, which is requisite for development of the most efficacious treatments for AMD.

A second area of research is focused on the proteasome, specifically investigating how proteasome structure and function change with aging and disease. Recent studies have suggested a specialized form of the proteasome, the immunoproteasome, may play a key role in protecting cells from stress. Experimental systems used to determine the consequences of inhibiting immunoproteasome expression include immunoproteasome-deficient mice and/or cells lacking one (lmp2-/- and lmp7-/-) or two (lmp7-/-/mecl-1-/-) catalytic subunits of immunoproteasome.

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