Aaron Nagiel

Aaron Nagiel, MD, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. He leads the Nagiel Laboratory at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, focusing on retinal development and disease mechanisms using human stem cell-derived retinal organoids. His work integrates live imaging, electrophysiology, and gene editing to study synaptogenesis and evaluate therapies like gene augmentation and small-molecule Hippo inhibition.

• Academic Affiliation: USC Department of Ophthalmology
• Lab: Nagiel Laboratory at Children's Hospital LA
• Research Collaborations: David Cobrinik, Thomas Lee, Jennifer Aparicio, Ksenia Gnedeva

Research Themes:

• Human retinal synaptogenesis
• Gene therapy for inherited retinal diseases
• Hippo pathway inhibition for retinal regeneration
• Pediatric ocular disease mechanisms
• Retinal organoid modeling

Scientific Awards:

• RPB Career Development Award (2021-2023)
• Baxter Foundation Fellowship (2019-2020)
• Allergan FIRST Fellowship (2016-2019)
• Michels Foundation Fellowship (2016-2017)
• Heed Foundation Fellowship (2015-2016)
• Jules Stein Pepose-Saltzman Award (2014-2015)

Publications demonstrate expertise in:

• Retinal disease genetics (RPE65, MPDZ, ALMS1)
• Gene editing applications
• Retinal imaging biomarkers
• Pediatric gene therapy delivery
• Retinal degeneration mechanisms