SUNY Optometry Welcomes Dr. Stefanie Wohl ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE Dr. Stefanie Wohl, a molecular biologist, arrives at the College as an assistant professor and grant recipient in the Empire Innovation Program, a state-funded program dedicated to groundbreaking researchers. She will also teach basics in molecular biology and genetics, including aspects of retinal development. “The cells I am interested in are called glia cells, more precisely Müller glia. Müller glia are the predominant glia in the neural retina. Glia cells are known as the support cells in the central nervous system, but have a variety of other functions including protection and maintaining the homeostasis of the tissue,” Dr. Wohl says. “For my future research, I will investigate the role of microRNAs in the glial response to injury or disease.” Dr. Wohl was intrigued by genetics and molecular biology as early as high school. Her specific research interest began during a lecture about nerve regeneration in the spinal cord during her final year at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany. She found a lab as a postgraduate that worked on axonal regeneration in the optic nerve and ultimately joined a lab at the University of Washington in Seattle as a postdoctoral research scientist, working with a professor who is an expert in the field of retinal development and regeneration. This new role also presents an exhilarating challenge to Dr. Wohl outside of the classroom. “I grew up in a little town in Germany where everyone knows everyone. The biggest city I ever lived in so far was Seattle, which is one seventh of the New York City population,” she says. “At the same time, NYC is a world-renowned, fascinating metropolis and I have the honor to live and work here.” Dr. Stephanie Wohl describes her work during the 2018 Research Open House 2018 ANNUAL REPORT 17
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