John M. Sullivan MD, PhD
John M. Sullivan
MD, PhD
Professor of Ophthalmology
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Specialty/Research Focus
Gene Expression; Gene therapy; Neurodegenerative disorders; Pathophysiology; Protein Folding; Retina; Signal Transduction
Professional Summary:
I am a Clinician Scientist working in the field of hereditary retinal and macular degenerations. I direct a regional referral service for these diseases at the Ross Eye Institute. My NIH- and VA-funded laboratory is focused on the development of gene-based therapeutics for hereditary retinal degenerations and common age-related macular degeneration.
Education and Training:
- Fellowship, Retinal Degenerative Diseases, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, Clinical/Research Fellowship of Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation (now Foundation Fighting Blindness) (1994)
- Residency, Ophthalmology, Washington Univ. School Medicine, St. Louis MO (1992)
- PhD, Biophysics, Medicine/Biophysics, Mount Sinai School Medicine (1987)
- MD, Medicine/Biophysics, Mount Sinai School Medicine, NY (1987)
- BA, Microbiology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ (1979)
Employment:
- Professor, Ophthalmology, University at Buffalo- State University of New York (2017-present)
- Staff Physician, Ophthalmology, VA Western NY Healthcare System (2004-present)
- Associate Professor with tenure, Ophthalmology, University at Buffalo- State University of New York (2011–2017)
- Associate Professor- tenure track, Ophthalmology, University at Buffalo- State University of New York (2004–2011)
- Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology, Upstate Medical University- State University of New York (1994–2004)
- Lecturer in Ophthalmology, Ophthalmology, University of Michigan (1992–1994)
- Fellow in Neurobiology; Staff Physician, Ophthalmology, Washington University School of Medicine; John Cochran Veterans Administration Hospital (1991–1992)
- Resident in Ophthalmology (PGY2- PGY4), Ophthalmology, Washington University School of Medicine (1988–1991)
- Intern (PGY1), Medicine, St. John's Mercy Medical Center (1987–1988)
Grants and Sponsored Research:
- September 2003–September 2007
A Ribozyme Rescue Strategy for Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa
National Eye Institute
Role: Co-Investigator
$975,000 - June 1996–May 2001
The Early Receptor Current of Rhodopsin Activation
National Eye Institute
Role: Co-Investigator
$350,000
Patents:
- COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR THERAPY OF MACULAR DEGENERATION An novel approach for the treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration and juvenile macular degeneration through the use of nucleic acid therapeutics. (2013)
- Method for identification of polynucleotides capable of cleaving target mRN Approach to identify rare accessible regions in therapeutic target RNAs, and the development of high throughput screening approaches to identify lead nucleic acid therapeutic agents. (2012)
Journal Articles:
- SULLIVAN J Shukla P. Time-resolved rhodopsin activation currents in a unicellular expression system. Biophysical J. 1999; 77(3).
- Yau EH, Butler MC, Sullivan JM. A cellular high-throughput screening approach for therapeutic trans-cleaving ribozymes and RNAi against arbitrary mRNA disease targets. Exp Eye Res. 2016; 151.
- Butler MC, Sullivan JM. A Novel, Real-Time, In Vivo Mouse Retinal Imaging System. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2015; 56(12).
- Sullivan JM, Yau EH, Taggart RT, Butler MC, Kolniak TA. Relieving bottlenecks in RNA drug discovery for retinal diseases. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2012; 723.
- Sullivan JM, Yau EH, Kolniak TA, Sheflin LG, Taggart RT, Abdelmaksoud HE. Variables and strategies in development of therapeutic post-transcriptional gene silencing agents. J Ophthalmol. 2011; 2011.
- Kolniak TA, Sullivan JM. Rapid, cell-based toxicity screen of potentially therapeutic post-transcriptional gene silencing agents. Exp Eye Res. 2011; 92(5).
- Butler MC, Itotia PN, Sullivan JM. A high-throughput biophotonics instrument to screen for novel ocular photosensitizing therapeutic agents. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2010; 51(5).
- Sullivan JM, Yau EH, Taggart RT, Butler MC, Kolniak TA. Bottlenecks in development of retinal therapeutic post-transcriptional gene silencing agents. Vision Res. 2008; 48(3).
- Brueggemann LI, Sullivan JM. HEK293S cells have functional retinoid processing machinery.. J Gen Physiol. 2002; 119(6).
- Sullivan JM, Pietras KM, Shin BJ, Misasi JN. Hammerhead ribozymes designed to cleave all human rod opsin mRNAs which cause autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa.. Mol Vis. 2002; 8.
- SULLIVAN J. Rhodopsin charge motions in the Schiff base counterion mutant E113Q. Invest. Ophthal. Vis. Sci. 2001; 42(S184).
- SULLIVAN J Brueggemann L Anumonwo J. Voltage and proton sensitivity of rhodopsin activation. Biophys. J.. 2001; 80(19a).
- SULLIVAN J L Chiu GM Seigel. Rhodopsin-induced apoptosis in a human cell culture system. Invest. Ophthal. Vis. Sci. 2000; 41(S404).
- SULLIVAN J L Brueggemann P Shukla. An electrical approach to study rhodopsin activation in single cells with the early receptor current assay. Methods in Enzymology. 2000; 315.
- Shukla P, Sullivan JM. Normal and mutant rhodopsin activation measured with the early receptor current in a unicellular expression system.. J Gen Physiol. 1999; 114(5).
- Sullivan JM, Shukla P. Time-resolved rhodopsin activation currents in a unicellular expression system.. Biophys J. 1999; 77(3).
- SULLIVAN J P Shukla. Time-resolved rhodopsin activation: early receptor current studies in a unicellular expression system.. Biophysical J. 1999; 76(148a).
- SULLIVAN J Shukla P. Normal and mutant rhodopsin activation measured with the early receptor current in a unicellular expression system.. J. General Physiology. 1999; 114.
- SULLIVAN J. Low-cost monochromatic microsecond flash microbeam apparatus for single-cell photolysis of rhodopsin or other photolabile pigments.. Rev. Sci. Inst. 1998.
- SULLIVAN J Pietras KM Shin B. Design and testing of hammerhead ribozymes to cleave full-length opsin mRNA. Invest. Ophthal. Vis. Sci.. 1998; 39(S722).
- SULLIVAN J Satchwell MF. Development of stable cell lines expressing mutant human rhodopsins. Invest. Ophthal. Vis. Sci. 1998; 39(S958).
- SULLIVAN J Liebovitch LS. Fractal analysis of a voltage dependent potassium channel from cultured mouse hippocampal neurons. Biophysical J. 1987; 52.