Affiliation: UMass Medical School

Dr. Moreno-Leon is a research instructor in the department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at University of Massachusetts (UMASS) Medical School. After obtaining her PhD degree from University of Nice Côte d’Azur in France, she completed her Post-Doctoral training in Dr. Hemant Khanna’s team at UMASS Medical school. Dr. Moreno-Leon acquired a cellular biology and molecular biology background during her PhD training while she studied the role of long non-coding RNAs involved in lung adenocarcinoma development and progression. She also performed gene editing approach to measure the therapeutic potential of targeting non-coding RNA in cancer therapies. With a strong interest in gene therapy, her post-doctoral training focused on bridging the gap between bench and bedside in the field of retinal degeneration by studying the function of micro-RNAs and RNA splicing during retinal development and disease. She has also proposed an alternative treatment strategy for a severe form of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), X-linked RP due to mutations in the RPGR gene.