معرفی
Dr. Cindy Linn is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Western Michigan University. Her research focuses on cellular mechanisms underlying visual processing in vertebrate retinas, particularly neuroprotection against excitotoxicity and retinal ganglion cell regeneration using α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7 nAChR) agonists. She leads studies in glaucoma models and blast-induced retinal trauma, funded by NIH and Department of Defense grants.
Education: BS and MS from University of Illinois at Chicago; PhD in Neurophysiology from Rice University (Houston). She has been at WMU since 2000, mentoring over 10 graduate and undergraduate students. Current projects include analyzing synaptic connectivity in regenerated retinal neurons and functional recovery using ERG/VEP recordings.
Research Interests: Retinal neuroregeneration, glaucoma pathophysiology, α7 nAChR signaling pathways, ocular trauma from blast exposure, and molecular mechanisms of Müller glia-mediated neurogenesis. Techniques include electrophysiology, flow cytometry, and transcriptomic analysis.
Recent work emphasizes translating in vitro findings to in vivo models, with studies showing α7 nAChR agonists can induce new retinal neurons and improve visual function in glaucoma and blast injury models. Collaborations involve Eurofin Laboratories for molecular biology applications.
Lab Team: Includes graduate students (e.g., Jake Spitsbergen analyzing synaptic connectivity; Hope Vanzo-Sparks studying acetylcholine-induced neurogenesis) and undergraduates like Megan Stanchfield. Ongoing projects address functional recovery metrics and gene expression changes post-treatment.
