Bela Anand-Apte, MBBS, PhD, MBA
Department Chair
Staff
The Llura and Gordon Gund Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology Research
Email: anandab@ccf.org
Location:
Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
Research
Dr. Anand-Apte's research has led to the understanding of novel functions for matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors in neovascularization and its implications in inherited retinal dystrophies and age-related macular degeneration. A more recent focus on the regulation of the blood retinal barrier in diabetic retinopathy is providing interesting insights into the loss of vision in diabetes.
The goal of her program is an improved understanding of ocular pathologies that lead to blindness. Dr. Anand-Apte has a strong commitment to improving diversity in the biomedical science research field and has played a pivotal role in establishing programs at the Cleveland Clinic to reach this goal.
Biography
Dr. Anand-Apte is the Chairman of Ophthalmic Research at the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. She is also a Professor of Ophthalmology and Molecular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. She joined the Cleveland Clinic in 1996.
Her research team explores the basic biological mechanisms of vision loss due to abnormal growth of blood vessels in the eye with special emphasis on Sorsby Fundus Dystrophy (SFD), age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy. Dr Anand-Apte received the equivalent of an MD degree from King Edward Memorial Hospital and Bombay University in India. Having developed an interest in research, she completed her PhD in Immunology and Microbiology from the Boston University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. A brief postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Harvard University was followed by a Research Associate position at Children’s hospital in Boston in the Department of Surgical Research.
She has received the Karen Grunebaum Award for research in Cancer, the Tom and Sandy Trudell Research Award for the study of retinal degenerative diseases, awarded through the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Lew Wasserman Award from Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB).
Education & Professional Highlights
Appointed
2016
Education, Training & Fellowships
Assistant Staff - Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Cleveland, OH
1999
Research Associate - Harvard Medical School, Children's Hospital
Cambridge, Massachusetts
1996
Fellowship - Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
1993
PhD - Boston University School of Medicine
Boston, Massachusetts
1991
Residency - King Edward Memorial Hospital
Mumbai, Maharashtra
1985
Medical Education - Seth G.S. Medical College, University of Bombay
Mumbai, Maharashtra
1984
Undergraduate School - Jai Hind College and Basantsingh Institute of Science, University of Bombay
Mumbai, Maharashtra
1979
Honors
2021- The Llura and Gordon Gund Endowed Chair in Ophthalmic Research, Gordon Gund Foundation
2014- Outstanding Educator, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
2007- Lew R. Wasserman Award, Research to Prevent Blindness
2004- Trudell Award for Retinal Degenerative Diseases, Tom and Sandy Trudell/Foundation Fighting Blindness
2002- Young Investigator Award, Retinal Degeneration
1990- Karen Grunebaum Award for Research in Cancer, Grunebaum Foundation
1989- Graduate Student Research Award, Boston University School of Medicine
Professional Society Memberships
American Association for Advancement of Science
1987-1999; 2012-present
American Society for Cell Biology
1987-1999; 2012-2013
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
1999-present
International Society for Eye Research
2004-present
Teaching Activities
CCLCM PBL Tutor
96 hours (2005)
CCLCM Seminar Leader
10 hours (2005-2007)
CCLCM Process of Discovery
2 hours (2005)
CCLCM Journal Club
2013-Present
Ophthalmology First Year Resident Basic Science Ocular Angiogenesis
1 hour (2002-2011)
CCLCM-Dean’s Dinner
2007
Signal Transduction CCLCM MOMED
2009-2013
Advanced research in Medicine-CCLCM
April 2017
Leadership & Service
Editorial Boards
Journal: Experimental Eye Research
2005-present (Section Editor: Retina and Vascular Biology 2017-present)
Journal: Ocular Biology, Diseases and Informatics
2008-present
Study Sections/Grant Review Committees
NIH/NEI Pathophysiology of Eye Disease-1
2020-present
Chair PED1: October 2023-present
NIH/NEI (Ad Hoc)
2011-2019
NIH/NIDDK (Ad Hoc)
2011
NIH/MDCN-B (Ad Hoc)
October 2013
Institutional Committees
CCLCM Yr 1 Journal Club
Course Director
2013-2016
CCLCM-MOLMED PhD Program Admissions Committee
Chair
2012-2017
Lerner Research Institute, Project Strategy Team for Talent Acquisition
Chair
2016
Department of Ophthalmic Research, Cole Eye Institute
Interim Chair
2016-present
Lerner Research Institute Committee for Appointments and Promotions
Member
2016-2020
CCLCM Committee for Admissions
Member
2014-present
CCLCM Research Education Committee
Member
2015-present
CCLCM Curriculum Committee
Member
2017-present
MOLMED PhD Executive Committee
Member
2012-present
MOLMED PhD Curriculum Committee
Member
2012-present
LRI Leadership Committee
Member
2016-present
Cole Eye Institute Vision Science Training Program
T32 NIH Grant
Director
P30 Core for Cole Eye Institute Research
Director
Advisory Boards/Groups
Knights Templar Eye Foundation
2016-present
Chair of Scientific Advisory Board: 2020- present
Foundation Fighting Blindness
2008-present
Bright Focus Foundation
2008-present
Quebec Consortium for Drug Discovery
2010-2013
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
2011-2017
International Retina Research Foundation
2011
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
2012-2016
Fight for Sight, United Kingdom
2003-2004
Veterans Administration
2002-2003
Research
Laboratory Goals- Understanding the basic molecular mechanisms of ocular neovascularization with a special focus on Tissue Inhibitors of Metalloproteinases-3 (TIMP-3) and Sorsby Fundus Dystrophy
- Examination of the physiological and pathological pathways that regulate breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier in diabetic retinopathy
Our Team
Selected Publications
View publications for Bela Anand-Apte, MBBS, PhD, MBA
(Disclaimer: This search is powered by PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. PubMed is a third-party website with no affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.)
Qi, JH, Ebrahem, Q, Moore, N, Murphy, G, Claesson-Welsh, L, Bond, M, Baker, A and Anand-Apte, B. (2003) Nature Medicine 9:407-415
Qi J, Dai G, Luthert P, Hollyfield J, Weber B, Heidi Stoehr and Anand-Apte B (2009) Upregulation of VEGF Receptor-2 in Endothelial Cells Expressing S156C-TIMP-3 Mutation Mediates Enhanced Angiogenesis: Implications for Choroidal Neovascularization in Sorsby Fundus Dystrophy. Journal of Biological Chemistry 284:19927-19936
Ebrahem Q, Vasanji A, Qi J, Klenotic P, Cutler A and Anand-Apte B (2010) Cross-talk between Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) in the induction of Neovascularization In Vivo. American Journal of Pathology 176(1):496-503.
Xie, J., Farage, E., Sugimoto,M and Anand-Apte,B. (2009) BMC Dev Biol. 2010 Jul 23;10:76
Sugimoto, M, Cutler, A., Shen, B., Moss, SE., Iyengar, SK., Klein, R., Folkman, J and Anand-Apte, B (2013) Inhibition of EGF Signaling Protects the Diabetic retina From Insulin-Induced Vascular Leakage. Am J Pathol 183(3):987-995
Bell, B, Xie, J, Yuan,A, Kaul,C, Hollyfield, JG and Anand-Apte, B (2014) Retinal Vasculature Imaging in Adult Zebrafish In Vivo using Confocal Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy. Experimental Eye Research 129;107-118
Qi, J and Anand-Apte, B (2014) Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP3) Promotes Endothelial Apoptosis by a Caspase-Independent Mechanism. Apoptosis 2015:20(4):523-534
Anand-Apte B, Bao L, Smith R, Iwata K, Olsen BR, Zetter B, Apte SS. A review of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-3 (TIMP-3) and experimental analysis of its effect on primary tumor growth. Biochem Cell Biol. 1996;74(6):853-62. doi: 10.1139/o96-090. Review. PubMed PMID: 9164653. Anand-Apte B, Zetter BR, Viswanathan A, Qiu RG, Chen J, Ruggieri R, Symons M. Platelet-derived growth factor and fibronectin-stimulated migration are differentially regulated by the Rac and extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathways. J Biol Chem. 1997 Dec 5;272(49):30688-92. doi: 10.1074/jbc.272.49.30688. PubMed PMID: 9388204. Anand-Apte B, Zetter B. Signaling mechanisms in growth factor-stimulated cell motility. Stem Cells. 1997;15(4):259-67. doi: 10.1002/stem.150259. Review. PubMed PMID: 9253109. Anand-Apte B, Chao JR, Singh R, Stöhr H. Sorsby fundus dystrophy: Insights from the past and looking to the future. J Neurosci Res. 2019 Jan;97(1):88-97. doi: 10.1002/jnr.24317. Epub 2018 Aug 21. Review. PubMed PMID: 30129971; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6241301. Anand-Apte B, Pepper MS, Voest E, Montesano R, Olsen B, Murphy G, Apte SS, Zetter B. Inhibition of angiogenesis by tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1997 Apr;38(5):817-23. PubMed PMID: 9112976. Anand-Apte B, Ebrahem Q, Cutler A, Farage E, Sugimoto M, Hollyfield J, Folkman J. Betacellulin induces increased retinal vascular permeability in mice. PLoS One. 2010 Oct 18;5(10):e13444. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013444. PubMed PMID: 20976146; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2956654. Arbiser JL, Karalis K, Viswanathan A, Koike C, Anand-Apte B, Flynn E, Zetter B, Majzoub JA. Corticotropin-releasing hormone stimulates angiogenesis and epithelial tumor growth in the skin. J Invest Dermatol. 1999 Nov;113(5):838-42. doi: 10.1046/j.1523-1747.1999.00760.x. PubMed PMID: 10571742. Asosingh K, Vasanji A, Tipton A, Queisser K, Wanner N, Janocha A, Grandon D, Anand-Apte B, Rothenberg ME, Dweik R, Erzurum SC. Eotaxin-Rich Proangiogenic Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells and CCR3+ Endothelium in the Atopic Asthmatic Response. J Immunol. 2016 Mar 1;196(5):2377-87. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1500770. Epub 2016 Jan 25. PubMed PMID: 26810221; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4761512. Asosingh K, Aldred MA, Vasanji A, Drazba J, Sharp J, Farver C, Comhair SA, Xu W, Licina L, Huang L, Anand-Apte B, Yoder MC, Tuder RM, Erzurum SC. Circulating angiogenic precursors in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension. Am J Pathol. 2008 Mar;172(3):615-27. doi: 10.2353/ajpath.2008.070705. Epub 2008 Feb 7. PubMed PMID: 18258847; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2258264. Banyard J, Anand-Apte B, Symons M, Zetter BR. Motility and invasion are differentially modulated by Rho family GTPases. Oncogene. 2000 Jan 27;19(4):580-91. doi: 10.1038/sj.onc.1203338. PubMed PMID: 10698528. Bao L, Loda M, Janmey PA, Stewart R, Anand-Apte B, Zetter BR. Thymosin beta 15: a novel regulator of tumor cell motility upregulated in metastatic prostate cancer. Nat Med. 1996 Dec;2(12):1322-8. doi: 10.1038/nm1296-1322. PubMed PMID: 8946830. Bell BA, Xie J, Yuan A, Kaul C, Hollyfield JG, Anand-Apte B. Retinal vasculature of adult zebrafish: in vivo imaging using confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy. Exp Eye Res. 2014 Dec;129:107-18. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2014.10.018. Epub 2014 Oct 24. PubMed PMID: 25447564; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4259836. Bell BA, Bonilha VL, Hagstrom SA, Anand-Apte B, Hollyfield JG, Samuels IS. Prolonged ocular exposure leads to retinal lesions in mice. Exp Eye Res. 2019 Aug;185:107672. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2019.05.012. Epub 2019 May 22. PubMed PMID: 31128100; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7332086. Cao Y, Chen H, Zhou L, Chiang MK, Anand-Apte B, Weatherbee JA, Wang Y, Fang F, Flanagan JG, Tsang ML. Heterodimers of placenta growth factor/vascular endothelial growth factor. Endothelial activity, tumor cell expression, and high affinity binding to Flk-1/KDR. J Biol Chem. 1996 Feb 9;271(6):3154-62. doi: 10.1074/jbc.271.6.3154. PubMed PMID: 8621715. Charette JR, Earp SE, Bell BA, Ackert-Bicknell CL, Godfrey DA, Rao S, Anand-Apte B, Nishina PM, Peachey NS. A mutagenesis-derived Lrp5 mouse mutant with abnormal retinal vasculature and low bone mineral density. Mol Vis. 2017;23:140-148. eCollection 2017. PubMed PMID: 28356706; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5360454. Claesson-Welsh L, Welsh M, Ito N, Anand-Apte B, Soker S, Zetter B, O'Reilly M, Folkman J. Angiostatin induces endothelial cell apoptosis and activation of focal adhesion kinase independently of the integrin-binding motif RGD. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 May 12;95(10):5579-83. doi: 10.1073/pnas.95.10.5579. PubMed PMID: 9576925; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC20420. DeBenedictis MJ, Gindzin Y, Glaab E, Anand-Apte B. A novel TIMP3 mutation associated with a retinitis pigmentosa-like phenotype. Ophthalmic Genet. 2020 Oct;41(5):480-484. doi: 10.1080/13816810.2020.1795889. Epub 2020 Jul 27. PubMed PMID: 32715858; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8118143. DiCicco RM, Bell BA, Kaul C, Hollyfield JG, Anand-Apte B, Perkins BD, Tao YK, Yuan A. Retinal regeneration following OCT-guided laser injury in zebrafish. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2014 Sep 9;55(10):6281-8. doi: 10.1167/iovs.14-14724. PubMed PMID: 25205862; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4191177. Ebrahem Q, Qi JH, Sugimoto M, Ali M, Sears JE, Cutler A, Khokha R, Vasanji A, Anand-Apte B. Increased neovascularization in mice lacking tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-3. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2011 Aug 3;52(9):6117-23. doi: 10.1167/iovs.10-5899. PubMed PMID: 21282576; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3175998. Ebrahem Q, Chaurasia SS, Vasanji A, Qi JH, Klenotic PA, Cutler A, Asosingh K, Erzurum S, Anand-Apte B. Cross-talk between vascular endothelial growth factor and matrix metalloproteinases in the induction of neovascularization in vivo. Am J Pathol. 2010 Jan;176(1):496-503. doi: 10.2353/ajpath.2010.080642. Epub 2009 Nov 30. PubMed PMID: 19948826; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2797907. Ebrahem Q, Renganathan K, Sears J, Vasanji A, Gu X, Lu L, Salomon RG, Crabb JW, Anand-Apte B. Carboxyethylpyrrole oxidative protein modifications stimulate neovascularization: Implications for age-related macular degeneration. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Sep 5;103(36):13480-4. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0601552103. Epub 2006 Aug 25. PubMed PMID: 16938854; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1569188. Ebrahem Q, Minamoto A, Hoppe G, Anand-Apte B, Sears JE. Triamcinolone acetonide inhibits IL-6- and VEGF-induced angiogenesis downstream of the IL-6 and VEGF receptors. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2006 Nov;47(11):4935-41. doi: 10.1167/iovs.05-1651. PubMed PMID: 17065510. Engel AL, Wang Y, Khuu TH, Worrall E, Manson MA, Lim RR, Knight K, Yanagida A, Qi JH, Ramakrishnan A, Weleber RG, Klein ML, Wilson DJ, Anand-Apte B, Hurley JB, Du J, Chao JR. Extracellular matrix dysfunction in Sorsby patient-derived retinal pigment epithelium. Exp Eye Res. 2022 Feb;215:108899. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2021.108899. Epub 2021 Dec 17. PubMed PMID: 34929159; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8923943.