Bela Anand-Apte, MBBS, PhD, MBA
Department Chair
Staff
The Llura and Gordon Gund Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology Research
Email: [email protected]
Location: Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
Research
The goal of Dr. Anand-Apte's program is an improved understanding of ocular pathologies that lead to blindness. She and her lab members strive to maintain a welcoming and supportive environment that advocates for all team members regardless of their background.
Biography
Dr. Anand-Apte is the Chair of Ophthalmic Research at the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. She is also Professor of Ophthalmology and Molecular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. She joined the Cleveland Clinic in 1996.
Dr. Anand-Apte received the equivalent of an MD degree from King Edward Memorial Hospital and Bombay University in India. Having developed an interest in research, she completed a PhD in Immunology and Microbiology from the Boston University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. A brief postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Harvard University was followed by a Research Associate position at Children’s Hospital in Boston in the Department of Surgical Research.
She has received the Karen Grunebaum Award for research in Cancer, the Tom and Sandy Trudell Research Award for the study of retinal degenerative diseases, awarded through the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Lew Wasserman Award from Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB). Dr. Anand-Apte has a strong commitment to improving diversity in the biomedical science research field and has played a pivotal role in establishing programs at the Cleveland Clinic to reach this goal.
Education & Professional Highlights
Appointed
2016
Education & Training
- 1979-1984: MBBS (MD equivalent) - University of Mumbai
- 1984-1986: Internship and Medical Residency - KEM Hospital, Mumbai
- 1986-1991: PhD in Microbiology and Immunology - Boston University
- 1992-1993: Postdoctoral Fellowship - Harvard University
- 1993-1996: Research Associate - Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
- 1996-1999: Project Scientist - Lerner Research Institute
Professional Appointments
- Cole Eye Institute
- 1999-2006: Assistant Staff
- 2006-2007: Associate Staff
- 2007-Present: Staff
- 2021-Present: Chair, Department of Ophthalmic Research
Academic Appointments
- Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University
- 2008-2015: Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology
- 2015-Present: Professor, Department of Ophthalmology
Honors
- 2021: The Llura and Gordon Gund Endowed Chair in Ophthalmic Research, Gordon Gund Foundation
- 2014: Outstanding Educator, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
- 2007: Lew R. Wasserman Award, Research to Prevent Blindness
- 2004: Trudell Award for Retinal Degenerative Diseases, Tom and Sandy Trudell/Foundation Fighting Blindness
- 2002: Young Investigator Award, Retinal Degeneration
- 1990: Karen Gruenebaum Award for Research in Cancer, Gruenebaum Foundation
- 1989: Graduate Student Research Award, Boston University School of Medicine
Research
The Anand-Apte lab explores the cellular and molecular mechanisms that contribute to vision loss in ocular disease. Their studies relate primarily to determining:
- How abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye contributes to vision loss during Sorsby fundus dystrophy, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy.
- How disruption of the blood-retinal barrier contributes to diabetic retinopathy.
They answer these questions by focusing on the extracellular matrix and its role in maintaining a physiological normal functioning retina. Alterations in this matrix in disease states leads to pathology and hence could be a potential therapeutic target.
The program's goal is an improved understanding of ocular pathologies that lead to blindness.
Our Team
Selected Publications
View publications for Bela Anand-Apte, MBBS, PhD, MBA
(Disclaimer: This search is powered by PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. PubMed is a third-party website with no affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.)
Selected Publications (from 75+ peer-reviewed papers)
- Qi, JH, Ebrahem, Q, Moore, N, Murphy, G, Claesson-Welsh, L, Bond, M, Baker, A and Anand-Apte, B (2003) A Novel Function for Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases-3 (TIMP-3): Inhibition of Angiogenesis by Blockage of VEGF Binding to VEGF receptor-2. Nature Medicine 9:407-415.
- Klenotic PA, Munier FL, Marmorstein LY, and Anand-Apte B (2004) Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-3 (TIMP-3) is a binding partner of epithelial growth factor-containing fibulin-like extracellular matrix protein 1 (EFEMP1). Implications for macular degenerations. J Biol Chem. 279:30469-30473.
- Ebrahem Q., Renganathan K., Sears J.,Vasanji A., Gu X., Lu L., Salomon R.S, Crabb J.W. and Anand-Apte B. (2006) Carboxyethylpyrrole Oxidative Protein Modifications Stimulate Neovascularization: Implications for Age-Related Macular Degeneration. PNAS;103(36):13480-4.
- Sears JE, Ebrahem Q, Hoppe G and Anand-Apte B (2008) Prolyl hydroxylase inhibition during hyperoxia prevents oxygen-induced retinopathy. PNAS 105(50):19898-903.
- Qi J, Dai G, Luthert P, Hollyfield J, Weber B, Heidi Stoehr and Anand-Apte B (2009) Upregulation of VEGF Receptor-2 in Endothelial Cells Expressing S156C-TIMP-3 Mutation Mediates Enhanced Angiogenesis: Implications for Choroidal Neovascularization in Sorsby Fundus Dystrophy. Journal of Biological Chemistry 284:19927-19936.
- Xie, J., Farage, E., Sugimoto, M. and Anand-Apte, B. (2009) A novel transgenic zebrafish model for blood-brain and blood-retinal barrier development. BMC Dev Biol. 2010 Jul 23;10:76.
- Wu, C, Agrawal, S., Vasanji, A., Drazba, J., Sarkaria, S., Xie, J.,Welsch, C.M., Anand-Apte, B. and Horowitz, A. (2011) Rab13-dependent trafficking of RhoA is required for directional migration and angiogenesis. JBC 286(26):23511-20.
- Sugimoto, M, Cutler, A., Shen, B., Moss, SE., Iyengar, SK., Klein, R., Folkman, J and Anand-Apte, B. (2013) Inhibition of EGF Signaling Protects the Diabetic retina From Insulin-Induced Vascular Leakage. Am J Pathol 183(3):987-995.
- Bell, B, Xie, J, Yuan, A, Kaul, C, Hollyfield, JG and Anand-Apte, B (2014) Retinal Vasculature Imaging in Adult Zebrafish In Vivo using Confocal Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy. Experimental Eye Research 129;107-118.
- Pollock LM, Xie, J, Bell BA and Anand-Apte, B (2018) Retinoic Acid Signaling is essential for maintenance of the blood-retinal barrier. FASEB J 32(10):5674-5684.
- Anand-Apte, B, Chao JR, Singh, R and Stohr, H (2019) Sorsby Fundus Dystrophy: Insights from the past and looking to the future. J. Neurosci Res. 97(1):88-97.
- Gordon, L, Blechman, J, Shimoni, E, Gur, D, Anand-Apte, B and Levkowitz, G (2019) Fenestrae-associated protein Plvap regulates the rate of blood-borne proteins passage into the hypophysis. Development 146(23).
- Manian, KV, Galloway, CA, Dalvi, S, Emanuel, AA, Mereness, JA, Black, W, Winschel, L, Soto, C, Li, Y, Song, Y, DeMaria, W, Kumar, A, Slukvin, I, Schwartz, MP, Murphy, WL, Anand-Apte, B, Chung, M, Benoit, DSW and Singh, R (2021) 3D iPSC-modeling of the retinal pigment epithelium-choriocapillaris complex identifies factors involved in the pathology of macular degeneration. Cell Stem Cell 28(5):846-862.
- Engel AL, Wang Y, Khuu TH, Worrall E, Manson MA, Lim RR, Knight K, Yanagida A, Qi JH, Ramakrishnan A, Weleber RG, Klein ML, Wilson DJ, Anand-Apte B, Hurley JB, Du J, Chao JR. (2022) Extracellular matrix dysfunction in Sorsby patient derived retinal pigment epithelium Exp Eye Res 215:108899.
- Qi, JH and Anand-Apte, B. Deglycosylation increases the aggregation and angiogenic properties of mutant 15. Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases-3 protein: Implications for Sorsby Fundus Dystrophy. Int J Mol Sci 2022 Nov;23(22):14231 PubMed Central PMCID:9696176.
Careers
We are looking for motivated individuals who share our enthusiasm for science and discovery. Individuals of all backgrounds are welcome to apply, but especially those who will thrive in a cohesive and collaborative collegial environment that fosters scientific curiosity, rigor and growth.
Prospective postdocs should email Dr. Anand-Apte ([email protected]) their CV, a brief description (<one page) of their research interests and career goals, and contact information for three references.
Interested graduate students should email Dr. Anand-Apte ([email protected]) to discuss potential projects.
Come join our team and enjoy all that the Cole Eye Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and the city of Cleveland have to offer!
Research News
Researchers studied sex-based eye differences in preclinical work to guide more personalized treatments.