Cagri Besirli

Cagri Besirli serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Michigan Medical School. His research bridges clinical ophthalmology and molecular mechanisms of retinal diseases, with particular expertise in photoreceptor metabolism and degenerative pathways. He maintains active collaborations across multiple institutions including Kellogg Eye Center and international ROP research consortia.

His research focuses on metabolic pathways in retinal health, particularly glutamine catabolism and PKM2 activation in photoreceptor survival. Work spans from fundamental mechanisms like glutaminase function in amino acid biosynthesis to clinical applications including gene therapy for inherited retinal diseases. Current investigations examine metabolic reprogramming in photoreceptor degeneration, with emphasis on energy metabolism dysregulation in conditions like retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.

Analysis of recent publications reveals three dominant research streams: 1) Metabolic ophthalmology exploring glutamine/PKM2 pathways in photoreceptor survival (40% of recent work), 2) Clinical trials and outcomes in gene therapy for inherited retinal diseases (30%), and 3) Surgical outcomes and cost analysis in vitreoretinal procedures (30%). His collaborative network includes strong ties to Kellogg Eye Center researchers and international ROP consortia.

Besirli participates in major clinical trials including RPGR-associated X-linked retinitis pigmentosa gene therapy studies and voretigene neparvovec research. His methodological contributions include novel flow cytometry techniques for retinal cell death quantification and psychometric validation of low-luminance visual function questionnaires. Current work demonstrates increasing focus on translational applications of metabolic insights for neuroprotection.

• Principal investigator for NIH-funded studies on photoreceptor metabolism
• Member of ROP International Consortium
• Collaborator on multiple phase 1/2 gene therapy trials

His laboratory investigates molecular mechanisms of retinal degeneration with emphasis on metabolic dysregulation. Current projects examine glutamine catabolism pathways using conditional knockout models and develop PKM2 activators as neuroprotective agents. The team employs multimodal imaging, metabolomics, and functional vision testing to bridge basic science with clinical applications.