David E. Cobrinik, MD, PhD is a professor at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, specializing in Ophthalmology and Cancer Biology. His research focuses on improving the understanding of retinal development and its relationship with retinal diseases, particularly retinoblastoma, a childhood retinal tumor associated with the inactivation of the RB1 tumor suppressor gene and the loss of functional pRB protein. Cobrinik aims to define the developmental signaling pathways that sensitize retinal cells to Rb loss, understand the events leading to the conversion of normal retinal cells into malignant retinoblastomas, and identify vulnerabilities in pRB-deficient cone precursors. With colleagues at the CHLA Vision Center, he models retinal development and diseases using human pluripotent stem cells, striving to create in vitro systems that accurately represent human retina development to enhance vision research. Throughout his career, he has received numerous prestigious awards, including the James S. McDonnell Foundation Scholar and various fellowships from the American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Keck School of Medicine of USC • Los Angeles, CA
Specializes in Ophthalmology and Cancer Biology, focusing on retinoblastoma and retinal development.