Baylor College of Medicine · NeuroscienceSamuel Lab
Melanie A Samuel · Houston, Texas
Research Focus
Dr. Melanie Samuel's lab at Baylor College of Medicine focuses on understanding how dopamine affects blood vessel growth in the retina. The research explores the role of retinal ganglion cells as sources of dopamine and how this influences vascular integrity in the eye. The ultimate goal is to uncover mechanisms that may lead to new treatments for eye diseases linked to vascular issues, like diabetic retinopathy.
dopamineretinal vascular integrityretinal ganglion cellsvascular diseasestherapeutic options
Research Aims
3AIM 01Investigate the direct effects of dopamine on retinal vascular cells.
AIM 02Examine the feedback mechanisms between dopamine and VEGFA in the retina.
AIM 03Identify genetic pathways regulating dopaminergic retinal ganglion cells.
Skills the Lab Values
cell cultureimmunohistochemistrygenetic manipulationanimal modelsWestern blotting
Output against the department
Publications64bottom 16% of dept.560th of 671
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations5.0kbottom 36% of dept.429th of 671
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.