The Chang lab focuses on vision impairment. Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss and its axon degeneration are the symptoms of glaucoma and optic neuropathy, which leading irreversible vison loss. As part of CNS, RGCs do not regenerate and not replaced after injury. RGC transplantation is a potential approach for RGC loss. In my lab, we investigate the underlying molecular mechanism of RGC differentiation and apply the findings to gene and stem cell therapies. Our long-term goals are to identify distinct factors for axon regeneration and to transplant donor RGCs to host eyes as a cell replacement therapy.