A critical, ongoing research focus in Dr. Lieberman’s lab is myocilin, a protein found in the eye linked to inherited glaucoma, and its impact on disease development. The lab has characterized two new recombinant antibodies that each have a unique method of destroying mis-folded myocilin. This clinically relevant discovery may lead to targeted therapeutics that prevent glaucoma development. The group’s discoveries in this area have far-reaching implications, as they have found similarities between myocilin-mediated glaucoma and other protein-aggregation diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. 

Another application for this research is the use of the new recombinant antibodies as reagents in the study of glaucoma in species models such as humans and mice. The goal of Dr. Lieberman’s team is to help researchers who are dealing with challenging proteins improve the rigor and reproducibility of their experiments by providing them with better reagents — opening the field to new discoveries as well as potential therapeutics and diagnostic tools. 

“Mutant myocilin is often causal for early onset glaucoma but we do not currently have any tailored treatments; we treat kids with glaucoma the same as adults. I’m passionate about leveraging our knowledge of how mutant myocilin causes disease to create a targeted therapeutic for kids that would treat the underlying cause.”

Research Goals

• Drug development: Using ophthalmic myocilin-related research to develop potential therapeutics for glaucoma and other protein misfolding diseases.
• Diagnostic tool development: Using ophthalmic myocilin protein research to develop tools to facilitate understanding and diagnosing of glaucoma and research of other protein misfolding diseases.
• Protein characterization: Determining biophysical and structural characteristics of proteins involved in misfolding disorders to advance the understanding of disease development and progression.
• Research outcome improvement: Discovering small molecules that expand reagent options in protein misfolding research across species and biomedical fields for better control of outcomes.

Activities

• Novel small molecule and antibody discovery: Engineering recombinant antibodies or small molecules that inhibit protein aggregation in the eye associated with glaucoma development and have the potential to function as targeted therapeutic agents.
• Protein misfolding research: Leveraging similarities discovered between myocilin-mediated glaucoma and amyloid diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, which enable research to understand myocilin’s biological function and the development of therapeutics and reagents for related diseases.
• Recombinant antibody reagent engineering: Using newly developed recombinant antibodies as reagents to enhance reproducibility and interpretation of experiments, supporting research across species and multiple biomedical specialties.

Leadership

• Professor, Sepcic-Pfiel Chair in Chemistry & Biochemistry (2021-current)
• Public Library of Science (PLoS) – Biology, Academic Editor (2017-current)
• Protein Society Executive Council (2021-2024)
• Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences (2010)
• Blanchard Fellowship (2010)
• Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert/American Federation for Aging Research New Investigator Award in Alzheimer Disease (2009)
• NSF CAREER Award (2008)
• Glaucoma Research Foundation Shaffer Award for Innovative Glaucoma Research (2008)
• American Chemical Society Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry (2006)