Chelsea Larabee

In the lab of Prof Heidi de Wet, I study regulation of glutamatergic signaling in various organs, including the brain and eye. Specifically, our focus is the orphan transporter, Abcc5, which has been associated with schizophrenia, diabetic retinopathy, obesity, and prostate cancer. Our lab has demonstrated that genetic absence of Abcc5 in mice significantly effects metabolism, behaviour, and ionotropic glutamate signaling in the brain. We have recently begun exploring the role of Abcc5 in diabetic retinopathy and in normal visual function.

I graduated with my PhD in neuroscience from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in 2017 where I worked in the lab of Dr Scott Plafker at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. My dissertation was focused on optic neuritis in multiple sclerosis, and I characterized the visual deficits of several mouse models of multiple sclerosis as well as inflammation and neurodegeneration of the optic nerve.