Dr Manisha Shah leads research on how oxidative stress and redox signalling contribute to fibrosis and neurodegeneration in eye diseases including corneal injury, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy. Her goal is to develop safe, targeted therapies that prevent scarring and preserve vision.

Building on CERA’s pioneering oxidant signalling research, her work focuses on how NADPH oxidase enzymes (Nox4 and Nox2) regulate oxidative pathways involved in wound healing, fibrosis and neurodegeneration. She is developing non-cytotoxic, redox-targeted eye drop-based therapies that modulate these pathways to improve disease outcomes.

Dr Shah also investigates HDL-based protective mechanisms in retinal disease – examining how high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or ‘good cholesterol’, reduce lipid peroxidation and inflammation, key drivers of AMD. Working within CERA’s Genetic Engineering Research Unit, she has advanced her work in developing eye drop-based, switchable gene therapies for neovascular and chronic eye diseases, supported by the CASS Foundation and the Weary Dunlop Foundation. She is also interested in vesicle-based eye drop delivery approaches to improve therapeutic efficiency.

Dr Shah completed her PhD at the Gujarat Cancer Research Institute, India, where she studied terminal glycosylation and identified a novel serum protein (T-band) linked to tobacco-related oral cancer and precancerous conditions. She was awarded a Susan G. Komen (USA) Postdoctoral Fellowship for investigating Matrix Metalloproteinase-13 (MMP13) inhibitors in breast-cancer metastasis (Supervisor Prof Rik Thompson, St Vincent’s Institute, University of Melbourne).

Her research is supported by national and international funding, including the US Department of Defense, the Macular Disease Foundation Australia, the CASS Foundation, the Weary Dunlop Foundation and industry collaborations to translate oxidative stress discoveries into vision-saving therapies using advanced drug delivery platforms.