Richard A. Lang, PhD

Director, Visual Systems Group
Professor, UC Department of Ophthalmology

richard.lang@cchmc.org

About

BSc: Co-major in genetics and biochemistry, University of Melbourne, Australia, 1984 (with honors).

PhD: University of Melbourne, Australia, at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research under Drs. AR Dunn and TJ Gonda, 1988.

Postdoctoral Fellow: The G.W. Hooper Research Foundation, University of California, San Francisco under Dr. JM Bishop, 1989-92. Studied the role of the macrophage in developmentally programmed tissue remodeling.

Interests

Wnt ligands in tumorigenesis; vascular regression and tissue regeneration; lens induction and morphogenesis.

Research Areas

Ophthalmology, Developmental Biology

Publications

Selected

Violet light suppresses lens-induced myopia via neuropsin (OPN5) in mice. Jiang, X; Pardue, MT; Mori, K; Ikeda, SI; Torii, H; D'Souza, S; Lang, RA; Kurihara, T; Tsubota, K. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA. 2021; 118:e2018840118.

Selected

Violet-light suppression of thermogenesis by opsin 5 hypothalamic neurons. Zhang, KX; D'Souza, S; Upton, BA; Kernodle, S; Vemaraju, S; Nayak, G; Gaitonde, KD; Holt, AL; Linne, CD; Smith, AN; et al. Nature. 2020; 585:420-425.

Selected

Adaptive Thermogenesis in Mice Is Enhanced by Opsin 3-Dependent Adipocyte Light Sensing. Nayak, G; Zhang, KX; Vemaraju, S; Odaka, Y; Buhr, ED; Holt-Jones, A; Kernodle, S; Smith, AN; Upton, BA; D'Souza, S; et al. Cell Reports. 2020; 30:672-686.e8.

Selected

Neuropsin (OPN5) Mediates Local Light-Dependent Induction of Circadian Clock Genes and Circadian Photoentrainment in Exposed Murine Skin. Buhr, ED; Vemaraju, S; Diaz, N; Lang, RA; Van Gelder, RN. Current Biology. 2019; 29:3478-3487.e4.

Selected

An opsin 5-dopamine pathway mediates light-dependent vascular development in the eye. Nguyen, MT; Vemaraju, S; Nayak, G; Odaka, Y; Buhr, ED; Alonzo, N; Tran, U; Batie, M; Upton, BA; Darvas, M; et al. Nature Cell Biology. 2019; 21:420-429.

Selected

A direct and melanopsin-dependent fetal light response regulates mouse eye development. Rao, S; Chun, C; Fan, J; Kofron, JM; Yang, MB; Hegde, RS; Ferrara, N; Copenhagen, DR; Lang, RA. Nature. 2013; 494:243-246.

Selected

Balanced Rac1 and RhoA activities regulate cell shape and drive invagination morphogenesis in epithelia. Chauhan, BK; Lou, M; Zheng, Y; Lang, RA. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA. 2011; 108:18289-18294.

Selected

Regulation of angiogenesis by a non-canonical Wnt-Flt1 pathway in myeloid cells. III, SJ A; Lewkowich, I; Rao, S; Mariggi, G; Carpenter, AC; Burr, AR; Fan, J; Ajima, R; Molkentin, JD; Williams, BO; et al. Nature. 2011; 474:511-515.

Selected

Macrophage Wnt7b is critical for kidney repair and regeneration. Lin, S; Li, B; Rao, S; Yeo, E; Hudson, TE; Nowlin, BT; Pei, H; Chen, L; Zheng, JJ; Carroll, TJ; et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA. 2010; 107:4194-4199.

Selected

WNT7b mediates macrophage-induced programmed cell death in patterning of the vasculature. Lobov, IB; Rao, S; Carroll, TJ; Vallance, JE; Ito, M; Ondr, JK; Kurup, S; Glass, DA; Patel, MS; Shu, WG; et al. Nature. 2005; 437:417-421.