Peter M.J. Quinn, PhD – PI
Peter M.J. Quinn is a British molecular geneticist, stem cell biologist, and genome engineer. Dr. Quinn is an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Principal Investigator of the PrimeSight Lab at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a former Principal Investigator, Associate Research Scientist, and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute, Columbia University Irving Medical Center. During his Postdoctoral Fellowship, he was advised by acclaimed physician-scientist Prof. Stephen H. Tsang and world-renowned genetic ophthalmologist Prof. Irene H. Maumenee. He received his PhD from the Faculty of Medicine at Leiden University, under the mentorship of Prof. Jan Wijnholds. His PhD thesis was entitled “The Retinal Crumbs Complex: From Animal Models and Retinal Organoids to Therapy.” Prior to this, he obtained his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Manchester and a master’s degree in molecular medicine and cancer research at Brunel University. His master’s research project focused on how PCP genes regulated the polarity of stem cell division in Drosophila melanogaster and was carried out under the supervision of Dr. David Tree. Additionally, he previously worked in the Novel Therapies Division at Epistem Ltd, headed at that time by Dr. Ged Brady and Dr. Jeffrey Moore.
Bruna Lopes da Costa – Postdoctoral Scientist
Bruna is a Brazilian researcher with a PharmD (2015) and a Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences (2018), both earned in Brazil. She recently completed her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University and joined the PrimeSight Lab. Bruna’s research interests are driven by a passion for translational science, with a focus on developing treatment strategies for inherited retinal diseases. During her Master’s training, she worked on drug delivery systems for ocular therapies. As a PhD student, her work centered on modeling retinal diseases using iPSC-derived retinal organoids and exploring both gene-dependent and gene-independent therapeutic approaches. Bruna’s long-term goal is to apply genome engineering technologies to develop treatments for genetic disorders that cause blindness, ultimately translating research findings into real-world clinical applications. Outside the lab she enjoys spending time with her dog and bird, going on hikes, trying new beers, and sharing good moments with family and friends.
Keith A Theodore – Research Lab Manager
Keith graduated in the spring of 2020 from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a major in Biology (Ecology & Environmental Biology Concentration) and minors in Chemistry and Environment, Society and Culture (ESC). Following graduation, he worked at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN as a clinical lab technologist in a newly established COVID-19 lab which required him to become skilled in a number of manual techniques as well as on the PerkinElmer automated testing platform. After gaining a substantial amount of experience in a clinical lab setting, he decided to pursue a career in immunology as a research assistant in the lab of Dr. Virginia Shapiro, which focused on hematopoiesis and the immune response in health and disease, primarily through the use of mouse models for autoimmune diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease and cancer. In 2022, Keith embarked on a new journey by joining Dr. Quinn’s lab in the department of ophthalmology at Columbia University. Here, he was able to gain extensive experience in many areas of ophthalmic science including mouse colony management, ERG, SLO/OCT, subretinal injections/gene therapy, iPSCs, retinal organoids, prime editing in iPSCs, generating KI/corrected clones, and molecular biology. All of which equipped him with the necessary skills to carry out his current role as a research project manager. Outside of the lab, Kieth enjoys running, playing badminton, baking, volunteering at the children’s hospital, brunch and going to comedy shows.
Saleha Tahir – Research Specialist B
Saleha graduated with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience, and her passion for research deepened while working as an undergraduate research assistant. During this time, she focused on the mouse barrel cortex (somatosensory cortex), where the central question was: “How does the sense of touch develop?” This formative experience ignited her love for studying complex underlying mechanisms and propelled her into a career in research, particularly because of its potential to make a significant impact on diseases. Currently, Saleha finds her work in ophthalmology—specifically with Dr. Quinn and the PrimeSight Team—both rewarding and exciting, as it combines a niche field with clinically translatable research. Her work involves establishing, rescuing, and managing knock-in HEK293T cell lines, alongside performing mass therapeutic screens of pegRNA and nicking sgRNA combinations. She is focused on expanding the IRD program and working on dual AAV-mediated prime editing rescue in established iPSC-derived retinal organoid lines. Saleha is committed to succeeding in all circumstances and believes that we should be ashamed to die until we’ve made a significant contribution to humankind. Outside of work, she enjoys continuous growth & learning, reading, and spending quality time with her family and cat.
José Ronaldo Lima de Carvalho Júnior – Research Associate
Ronaldo is a Brazilian ophthalmologist who specializes in ophthalmic genetics. He earned his medical degree from the Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil, in 2011 followed by residency in ophthalmology from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. He then completed fellowships in retina, uveitis, and low vision at University of São Paulo. Upon completion of his studies in Brazil, he joined the laboratory of Dr. Stephen Tsang at Columbia University, New York, as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Later, he also worked under Dr. Janet Sparrow as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist. Over the course of two years, Ronaldo published more than 25 original manuscripts, making important contributions to the inherited retinal dystrophy field. During that time, he also met Dr. Peter Quinn, who became his close friend and collaborator in science. After finishing his training in New York City, Ronaldo returned to Brazil where he started the first clinical service specialized in eye genetics in Northeast Brazil. Since then, he has seen over 300 patients with genetic eye diseases, performing genetic testing, counseling, and visual rehabilitation. Inspired by his patients, Ronaldo moved back to the United States in 2023 to work on cell disease modeling at the National Eye Institute (NEI) under the mentorship of Drs. Bin Guan and Brian Brooks as a Research Scientist. After a successful year at the NEI, Ronaldo joins Dr. Quinn and the Prime Sight Laboratory to continue working on cell disease modeling and gene therapy development. Ronaldo loves nature and spending time with his family. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, playing tennis and playing the accordion.
Anne Marie Berry – PhD Candidate
Lab Alumni
Joel Imventarza, MD – Postdoctoral Research Scientist and Associate Research Scientist. Currently Research Ophthalmologist at Virscio.
PrimeSight Lab 