Jens Rister

Jens Rister is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. His research focuses on molecular mechanisms underlying photoreceptor development in Drosophila, with broader implications for human retinopathies and cancer. He is an Associate Member of the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Cancer Genetics program since 2017.

• PhD in Genetics and Neurobiology from University of Würzburg
• Postdoc training at New York University with EMBO, DFG, and NIH/NEI K99 fellowships

Research Interests

Dr. Rister’s lab investigates:

• Development of color-sensing photoreceptors in Drosophila
• Role of conserved regulators (e.g., Hippo pathway) in retinal degeneration and cancer
• Impact of vitamin A deficiency on retinal transcriptome/lipidome/proteome
• Synthetic regulatory DNA to reconstruct rhodopsin expression patterns
• Molecular logic of tumor suppressor gene regulation in post-mitotic neurons

Article Trends

Recent work spans 2012–2024, focusing on:

• Gene regulatory motifs (e.g., palindromic sequences) controlling rhodopsin expression
• Hippo pathway interactions in photoreceptor subtype specification
• Proteomic and lipidomic changes during vitamin A deprivation
• Evolutionary conservation of sensory neuron regulatory mechanisms

Scientific Awards

• NIH/NEI R01 grants (2019–2023)
• NIH/NEI Pathway to Independence Awards (K99/R00)
• UMass Boston Endowed Career Faculty Development Award (2018)
• EMBO and DFG fellowships

Advising & Grants

• Mentored over 30 students in REU, McNair, SPARC, U54, and CSM programs
• Collaboration with Hamad-Schifferli lab for nanoparticle-based eye drug delivery
• Co-director of Cold Spring Harbor Labs course 'Drosophila Neurobiology: Genes, Circuits, and Behavior'