Education and Training

Franklin and Marshall College, BA, 1978
University of Tennessee, PhD, 1985
University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Postdoctoral, 1985-1988
National Jewish Center, Postdoctoral, 1988-1989

Research Area

Understanding the mechanism of visual signal transduction in the vertebrate retina

Research Highlights

• Led one of the first research groups to clone the G protein-coupled receptor kinase seven (GRK7) and identify its function as a cone opsin kinase
• Defined the heterogeneity of GRK1 and GRK7 expression in vertebrates, leading to a re-evaluation of the appropriate models for human cone phototransduction. This work helped clarified differences in the pathophysiology of the retinas of patients with Oguchi disease patients and its mouse model
• Led one of the first research groups to apply metabolomics and proteomics to investigate the role of cellular metabolism on neurodegenerative retinal diseases

Selected Publications

Chrispell, J.D., Xiong, Y., &Weiss, E.R. Grk7 but not Grk1 undergoes cAMP-dependent phosphorylation in zebra sh cone photoreceptors and mediates cone photoresponse recovery to elevated cAMP. J. Biol. Chem. 298(12) 102636 (2022).

Osawa, S., Jo, R., Xiong, Y., et al. Phosphorylation of G Protein-coupled receptor kinase 1 (GRK1) Is regulated by light but independent of phototransduction in rod photoreceptors. J. Biol. Chem. 286(23), 20923-20929 (2011).

Osawa, S., Jo, R., Weiss, E.R. Phosphorylation of GRK7 by PKA in cone photoreceptor cells is regulated by light. J. Neurochem. 107, 1314-1324 (2008).

Horner, T.J., Osawa, S., Schaller, M.D., & Weiss, E.R. Phosphorylation of GRK1 and GRK7 by cAMP-dependent protein kinase attenuates their enzymatic activities. J. Biol. Chem 280(31), 28241-2850 (2005).

For a full list of publications, please see this link.