Assistant Professor

Graduate Training: Oregon Health Sciences University
Fellowships: University of Michigan, Kellogg Eye Center

Departments of Ophthalmology; Biochemistry
Sensory Neuroscience Research Center
WVU Eye Institute
One Stadium Drive
PO Box 9193
Morgantown, WV 26506-9193
t: 304-598-6881
f: 304-293-6928
e: zareparsis@rcbhsc.wvu.edu

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Research Interests

My laboratory is interested in studying the genetic basis of aging and complex disorders including glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. Our research approach is multi-disciplinary involving clinical characterization, molecular biology, microarray analysis, biostatistics, and genetic epidemiology.

We are now at an exciting stage where the technology to discover the genetic basis of complex disorders is becoming increasingly more feasible. My laboratory employs two complementary approaches utilizing both genetic epidemiology methodologies and microarray analysis to identify genes involved in pathogenesis of complex disorders. Linkage analyses can aid in the identification of regions that harbor susceptibility genes. Genome-wide association studies can identify not only the genes in regions implicated by linkage analysis but also the genes with smaller effects on disease risk that may otherwise go undetected. Microarray analysis can facilitate our understanding of how variation in gene expression contributes to complex biological phenomena including aging and disease pathogenesis.

Figure 1: click HERE to see a more detailed image.