Dr. Sandell's laboratory is interested in the structure and function of the visual system, especially
the changes that occur when the system is perturbed by genetic defects, normal aging, and injury. Our
current work is divided into three areas:
- Studies of retinal remodeling in retinitis pigmentosa
- Studies of the effects of normal aging on the structure of the brain
 Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is the leading genetic cause of blindness. We are part of a large team, the Boston Retinal Implant Project, which is trying to develop a prosthesis which could be implanted into the eye to provide visual signals to patients with RP. RP is a progressive disease that results in the destruction of the photoreceptors, usually by young adulthood. However, there is substantial survival of the remaining retinal neurons, and the pathway to the brain remains intact. It is the goal of our team, and others, to build a device that could electrically stimulate the remaining neurons in the retina. These signals would then be transmitted to the brain and might provide a measure of useful vision analogous to the way electrical signals from cochlear implants provide useful signals for some deaf people. The role of our lab in this effort is to describe the anatomy of the retina in RP, to help guide the design and deployment of the prosthesis. We have also worked to develop and test a rabbit model of inducible photoreceptor degeneration, and were recently funded to determine whether neurotrophin-eluting hydrogels can retard or prevent retinal degeneration in a rodent model of RP. 
Aging causes impairments in memory and cognition, even in the absence of Alzheimer Disease. We participate in a Program Project
Grant that uses Rhesus monkeys as a model for normal human aging. In the past we have worked with Dr. Alan Peters to examine the structure of
the optic nerve and the anterior commissure in these animals, as examples of circumscribed white matter tracts. We have found extensive changes in myelin and loss of nerve fibers in all locations. Our next goal is to use immunohistochemistry to examine ubiquitin in the aging brain, to determine which cellular elements are targeted for destruction by this system.
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