I am very happy to announce that the Zippin lab has received a 2.7M competing continuation R01 award to extend our studies for five more years on the "Mechanisms of cAMP-dependent regulation of melanosome pH".

This award would not be possible without the hard work of everyone in the lab and my brilliant collaborators who are dedicated to understanding human pigmentation and developing treatments for disorders such as oculocutaneous albinism.

We are so excited about the promise of this work for patients with disorders of hypopigmentation such as albinism. Fantastic collaboration of intramural and extramural science. Congrats to Monika Dolinska for leading this study and to all members of the Brooks and Zippin labs.

We excited about our recent publication in JCI Insight. Highlights the power of intramural and extramural collaboration between my lab and the Brooks labs at NEI. Amazing job by first author Monika Dolinska.

In this paper we also leverage our LC-MS melanin tracing technique to show that ampyrone activates new melanin synthesis within 20 minutes. We are excited to see how this approach will aid in the discovery of new therapeutics for pigment disease.

Melanin pigmentation of the skin and eyes has an essential role in the development of visual acuity and in preventing skin cancer risk. Inflammatory disorders of skin can cause significant depigmentation.

Thus, we have identified a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of diseases of hypopigmentation including OCA. In addition, we highlight how our LCMS tyrosine tracing technique can be used for in cell drug screening with changes in TYR activity seen in just 20 minutes

Fantastic Meeting in NYC. The PASPCR Annual Meeting showcases the current research in melanocytes, melanoma, melanin and disorders of pigmentation, and we invite you to submit abstracts for the conference being held September 9-12, 2024, in New York, NY, and also online.

Registration is required to submit the abstract and attend in person or on-line. TRAVEL AWARDS