Timothy Cherry, PhD

BA, Cornell University
PhD, Harvard University
Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Medical School
 

Dr. Cherry is an Associate Professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics and Ophthalmology and a Principal Investigator at Seattle Children’s Research Institute in the Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine. 

Originally from Nebraska, Dr. Cherry studied genetics and linguistics as an undergraduate College Scholar at Cornell University.  Tim then trained in the genetics of human brain malformations in the lab of Christopher A. Walsh at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA.  He went on to obtain his doctorate from Harvard University, while conducting research on the development of the retina under the mentorship of Constance Cepko, Ph.D. in the Dept. of Genetics. Tim then trained as a postdoctoral fellow, studying mechanisms of gene regulation in neural development and disease with Michael E. Greenberg in the Dept. of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School.

The Cherry Lab investigates how the visual system develops, and how genetic variations contribute to blindness and other visual disorders. Our ultimate goal is to develop new therapeutic strategies to treat these disorders.

1/2024, Hydrocephalus Innovator Award, Hydrocephalus Association

8/2024, Clinical and Research Synergy Award, Hydrocephalus Association

10/2024, Seattle Children's Research Institute Outstanding Mentor Award

VandenBosch LS, Luu K, Timms AE, Challam S, Wu Y, Lee AY, Cherry TJ. Machine Learning Prediction of Non-Coding Variant Impact in Human Retinal cis-Regulatory Elements. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2022 Apr 1;11(4):16. doi: 10.1167/tvst.11.4.16. PMID: 35435921.

Chambers CZ, Soo GL, Engel AL, BDRL, Glass IA, Frassetto A, Martini PGV, Cherry TJ. Lipid nanoparticle-mediated delivery of mRNA into the mouse and human retina and other ocular tissues. PMID: 37502987 PMCID: PMC10369938 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.13.548758 (in press, TVST)

Seo Y, Joo K, Lee J, Diaz A, Jang S, Cherry TJ, Bujakowska KM, Han J, Woo SJ, Small KW. Two novel non-coding single nucleotide variants in the DNase1 hypersensitivity site of PRDM13 causing North Carolina macular dystrophy in Korea. Mol Vis. 2024 Feb 19;30:58-66. eCollection 2024. PMID: 38601016 Free PMC article.

Tedja MS, Swierkowska-Janc J, Enthoven CA, Meester-Smoor MA, Hysi PG, Felix JF, Cowan CS; CREAM Consortium; Cherry TJ, van der Spek PJ, Ghanbari M, Erkeland SJ, Barakat TS, Klaver CCW, Verhoeven VJM. A genome-wide scan of non-coding RNAs and enhancers for refractive error and myopia. Hum Genet. 2025 Jan;144(1):67-91. doi: 10.1007/s00439-024-02721-x. Epub 2025 Jan 8. PMID: 39774722

VandenBosch LS, Leonardson AS, Cherry TJ. Decoding cell-class specific roles of non-coding variants in human retina. Sci Rep. 2025 Dec 11;16(1):1126. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12789556.