Dr Denize Atan

Summary

Hippocampus

Memory

Epilepsy

Retinal development

Genetics

Neuro-ophthalmology

Ocular inflammation

Biography

Denize completed her training in Clinical Medicine and Surgery at the University of Oxford (BM BCh) after first graduating from the University of Cambridge in Medical Sciences (MA Hons).  After specialising in general medicine and obtaining Membership of The Royal college of Physicians (MRCP UK), she became increasingly interested in the great variety of systemic diseases that affect the eye and vision in general.  Consequently, she undertook further specialist training in ophthalmology in the South West region, including the Oxford Eye Hospital and Bristol Eye Hospital, and it was in Bristol that her current research interest in ocular genetics was ignited.

Denize completed a PhD in ocular genetics from the University of Bristol in 2008, followed by a post-doctoral research fellowship funded by the Wellcome Trust in Toronto, where she spent almost 2 years investigating the genetic regulation of retinal development.  She then completed her surgical training in ophthalmology with Membership followed by Fellowship of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists for which she received the Harcourt Medal on both occasions.  

Denize developed her clinical expertise in disorders that affect both the eye and the brain by completing a Senior Clinical Fellowship in Neuro-ophthalmology in Birmingham, one of the largest centres for neuro-ophthalmogy in the UK.  

She is currently working as a Senior Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Neuro-ophthalmology at the Bristol Eye Hospital.  She is a member of the Bristol Vision Institute's management team.  She is a member of the small grants panel for Fight for Sight.

Activities / Findings

1. The role of transcriptional regulators in the development of the retina and brain.

2. Neurodevelopmental disorders, including epilepsy and intellectual disability.

2. The influence of genetic variants on the severity and risk of intraocular inflammatory diseases.

Teaching

Denize is the Unit Lead in Neuroscience for the BSc in Health Sciences course at the University of Bristol.

In addition, she teaches and lectures on the following courses:

1. Ophthalmology on the MB ChB programme, University of Bristol Medical School

2. Regenerative Medicine module, Cellular and Molecular Medicine

3. MSc in Stem Cells and Regeneration

Denize regularly supervises MSc research projects in Molecular Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine.

She is qualified in teaching with a Certificate in Medical Education from the University of Bristol.

Keywords

• Genetics
• Retinal development
• Vision
• Cognition.

Skills

• Inherited causes of visual impairment
• Neurodevelopmental disorders
• Intraocular inflammatory diseases.

Processes and functions

• Development of visual function
• Development of the brain
• Inflammatory disorders of the eyes and brain
• Genetic disorders of the eyes and brain.

Methodologies

• PCR
• RT-PCR
• ChIP
• RNA-seq
• Immunohistochemistry
• Confocal imaging
• Behavioural testing
• Reporter assays.

Memberships

Organisations

Bristol Medical School (THS)

Academic staff

• School of Clinical Sciences Academic Staff

Research groupings

• Ophthalmology

Recent publications

• Márquez, A, Cordero-Coma, M, Martín-Villa, JM, Gorroño-Echebarría, MB, Blanco, R, Valle, DD, Rio, MJD, Blanco, A, Olea, JL, Cordero, Y, Capella, MJ, Díaz-Llopis, M, Ortego-Centeno, N, Ruiz-Arruza, I, Llorenç, V, Adán, A, Fonollosa, A, Berge, JT, Atan, D, Dick, AD, De Boer, JH, Kuiper, J, Rothova, A & Martín, J, 2017, ‘New insights into the genetic component of non-infectious uveitis through an Immunochip strategy’. Journal of Medical Genetics, vol 54., pp. 38-46
• Jung, CC, Atan, D, Ng, D, Ploder, L, Ross, SE, Klein, M, Birch, DG, Diez, E & McInnes, RR, 2015, ‘Transcription factor PRDM8 is required for rod bipolar and type 2 OFF-cone bipolar cell survival and amacrine subtype identity’. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol 112., pp. E3010-E3019
• Atan, D, Heissigerova, J, Kuffová, L, Hogan, A, Kilmartin, DJ, Forrester, JV, Bidwell, JL, Dick, AD & Churchill, AJ, 2013, ‘Tumor necrosis factor polymorphisms associated with tumor necrosis factor production influence the risk of idiopathic intermediate uveitis’. Molecular Vision, vol 19., pp. 184-195
• Ross, S, McCord, A, Jung, C, Atan, D, Mok, S, Hemberg, M, Kim, T, Hu, L, Cohen, S, Lin, Y, Harrar, D, McInnes, R, Greenberg, M & Salogiannis, J, 2012, ‘Bhlhb5 and Prdm8 form a repressor complex involved in neuronal circuit assembly’. Neuron, vol 73., pp. 292 - 303
• Atan, D, Fraser-Bell, S, Plskova, J, Kuffova, L, Hogan, A, Tufail, A, Kilmartin, D, Forrester, J, Bidwell, J, Dick, A & Churchill, A, 2011, ‘Punctate inner choroidopathy and multifocal choroiditis with panuveitis share haplotypic associations with IL10 and TNF Loci’. Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science, vol 52., pp. 3573 - 3581
• Gill, H, Muthusamy, B, Atan, D, Williams, C & Ellis, M, 2011, ‘Joubert syndrome presenting with motor delay and oculomotor apraxia’. Case reports in pediatrics, vol 2011., pp. 262641
• Atan, D, Fraser-Bell, S, Plskova, J, Kuffova, L, Hogan, A, Tufail, A, Kilmartin, D, Forrester, J, Bidwell, J, Dick, A & Churchill, A, 2010, ‘Cytokine polymorphism in noninfectious uveitis’. Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science, vol 51., pp. 4133 - 4142
• Atan, D, Foy, C & Scanlon, P, 2008, ‘Reply to ‘Evaluation of the effect of JPEG and JPEG2000 image compression on the detection of diabetic retinopathy’’. Eye, vol 22(3):471.
• Glover, N, Ah-Chan, J, Frith, P, Downes, S & Atan, D, 2008, ‘Unremitting sympathetic ophthalmia associated with homozygous interleukin-10-1082A single nucleotide polymorphism’. British Journal of Ophthalmology, vol 92(1)., pp. 155 - 156
• Churchill, AJ, Carter, JG, Lovell, HC, Ramsden, C, Turner, SJ, Yeung, A, Escardo, J & Atan, D, 2006, ‘VEGF polymorphisms are associated with neovascular age-related macular degeneration’. Human Molecular Genetics, vol 15., pp. 2955-2961

View complete publications list in the University of Bristol publications system

Networks & contacts

• Professor Rod McInnes Lady Davis Research Institute & McGill University Montreal Canada
• Dr Sarah Ross Assistant Professor University of Pittsburgh USA
• Dr Michael Matise Associate Professor Robert Wood Johnson Medical School USA
• Dr Andrew Calway University of Bristol
• Dr Daniel Schien University of Bristol
• Dr Santi Rodriguez University of Bristol
• Dr Zuner Bortolotto University of Bristol
• Professor Zafar Bashir University of Bristol
• Professor Clea Warburton University of Bristol
• Dr Conor Houghton University of Bristol