Michel Telias

Dr. Michel Telias is an Assistant Professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center with primary appointments in Ophthalmology and Neuroscience at the Flaum Eye Institute, and joint appointments at the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience and the Center for Visual Science. He holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a Ph.D. in Cell & Developmental Biology from Tel Aviv University. His research focuses on retinal degeneration mechanisms, Fragile X Syndrome modeling using human pluripotent stem cells, and developing therapeutic strategies to counteract vision loss. Key areas include retinoic acid signaling inhibition in retinal remodeling and identifying human-specific pathophysiological markers in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Education:

• B.Sc. Medical Sciences – Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2005)
• M.Sc. Medical Neurobiology – Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2008)
• Ph.D. Cell & Developmental Biology – Tel Aviv University (2015)

Research Interests:

• Mechanisms of inner retinal remodeling in degenerative diseases
• Human stem cell models of Fragile X Syndrome
• Retinoic acid signaling pathways in vision loss
• Therapeutic development for neurodegenerative disorders

Recent Work Trends: Focus on translational research bridging basic science and clinical applications, including drug repurposing and gene therapy approaches. His lab’s publications emphasize understanding disease mechanisms through electrophysiology, molecular biology, and in vivo behavioral assays.

Awards & Recognition:

• ILANIT/FISEB Post-Doc Travel Award (2019)
• Review Editor roles at Frontiers in Neuroscience (2016–present)

Lab Activities: The Telias Lab leads projects on retinal degeneration therapies, molecular diagnostics via exosome analysis, and human-specific neuronal dysfunction in Fragile X Syndrome. Collaborations span neurobiology, pharmacology, and vision science programs at URMC.