Catherine Bowes Rickman, Ph.D. is a professor of ophthalmology and of cell biology in the Duke Eye Center at Duke University in Durham, NC.
Catherine leads a team of researchers focusing on developing and using mouse models to understand the pathobiology of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and on developing and testing therapeutic targets for AMD. She has a long-standing interest in the molecular and cell biology and pathology of the retina. Amongst her seminal discoveries was the identification of the gene responsible for retinal degeneration in the rd (rd1) mouse. She has applied her expertise in mouse genetics to develop multifactorial models to demonstrate AMD risk based on lipid or complement dysregulation, aging and diet. Distinctively, these models provide valuable tools for the better understanding pathology in AMD and testing of novel AMD therapeutics.