Leah A. Owen

Leah A. Owen, MD, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Adjunct - Population Health Sciences , Adjunct - Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences , Adjunct - Obstetrics & Gynecology

Education History

Undergraduate Westminster College
 BS
Doctoral Training University of Utah
 PhD
Professional Medical University of Utah
 MD
Residency John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah Health Care
 Resident
Fellowship Storm Eye Institute, Medical University of South Carolina
 Fellow

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. DeAngelis MM, Owen LA, Morrison MA, Morgan DJ, Li M, Shakoor A, Vitale A, Iyengar S, Stambolian D, Kim IK, Farrer L (2017). Genetics of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Human molecular genetics, 26(R2), R246.
  2. Owen LA, Morrison MA, Ahn J, Woo SJ, Sato H, Robinson R, Morgan DJ, Zacharaki F, Simeonova M, Uehara H, Chakravarthy U, Hogg RE, Ambati BK, Kotoula M, Baehr W, Haider NB, Silvestri G, Miller JW, Tsironi EE, Farrer LA, Kim IK, Park KH, DeAngelis M (2014). FLT1 genetic variation predisposes to neovascular AMD in ethnically diverse populations and alters systemic FLT1 expression. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 55(6), 3543-54.
  3. Owen LA, Shakoor A, Morgan DJ, Hejazi AA, McEntire MW, Brown JJ, Farrer LA, Kim I, Vitale A, DeAngelis M (2019). The Utah Protocol for Postmortem Eye Phenotyping and Molecular Biochemical Analysis. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 60(4), 1204-1212.
  4. Gahring LC, Days EL, Kaasch T, Gonzalez de Mendoza M, Owen L, Persiyanov K, Rogers S (2005). Pro-inflammatory cytokines modify neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor assembly. Journal of neuroimmunology, 166(1-2), 88-101.
  5. Byrd JM, Young MP, Liu W, Zhang Y, Tate DB, Crandall AS, Owen L (2018). Long-term outcomes for pediatric patients having transscleral fixation of the capsular bag with intraocular lens for ectopia lentis. Journal of cataract and refractive surgery, 44(5), 603-609.
  6. Kim S, Lowe A, Dharmat R, Lee S, Owen LA, Wang J, Shakoor A, Li Y, Morgan DJ, Hejazi AA, Cvekl A, DeAngelis MM, Zhou ZJ, Chen R, Liu (2019). Generation, transcriptome profiling, and functional validation of cone-rich human retinal organoids. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(22), 10824-10833.
  7. Hwang ES, Morgan DJ, Pennington KL, Owen LA, Fingert JH, Bernstein PS, DeAngelis M (2019). Progressive optic nerve changes in cavitary optic disc anomaly: integration of copy number alteration and cis-expression quantitative trait loci to assess disease etiology. BMC medical genetics, 20(1), 63.
  8. Williams LB, Javed A, Sabri A, Morgan DJ, Huff CD, Grigg JR, Heng XT, Khng AJ, Hollink IHIM, Morrison MA, Owen LA, Anderson K, Kinard K, Greenlees R, Novacic D, Nida Sen H, Zein WM, Rodgers GM, Vitale AT, Haider NB, Hillmer AM, Ng PC, Shankaracharya, Cheng A, Zheng L, Gillies MC, van Slegtenhorst M, van Hagen PM, Missotten TOAR, Farley GL, Polo M, Malatack J, Curtin J, Martin F, Arbuckle S, Alexander SI, Chircop M, Davila S, Digre KB, Jamieson RV, DeAngelis M (2019). ALPK1 missense pathogenic variant in five families leads to ROSAH syndrome, an ocular multisystem autosomal dominant disorder. Genetics in medicine, 21(9), 2103-2115.
  9. Smith R, Owen LA, Trem DJ, Wong JS, Whangbo JS, Golub TR, Lessnick S (2006). Expression profiling of EWS/FLI identifies NKX2.2 as a critical target gene in Ewing's sarcoma. Cancer cell, 9(5), 405-16.
  10. Owen LA, Lessnick S (2006). Identification of target genes in their native cellular context: an analysis of EWS/FLI in Ewing's sarcoma. Cell cycle (Georgetown, Tex.), 5(18), 2049-53.
  11. Owen LA, Hartnett M (2013). Soluble mediators of diabetic macular edema: the diagnostic role of aqueous VEGF and cytokine levels in diabetic macular edema. Current diabetes reports, 13(4), 476-80.
  12. Owen LA, Kowalewski AA, Lessnick S (2008). EWS/FLI mediates transcriptional repression via NKX2.2 during oncogenic transformation in Ewing's sarcoma. PloS one, 3(4), e1965.
  13. Owen LA, Uehara H, Cahoon J, Huang W, Simonis J, Ambati B (2012). Morpholino-mediated increase in soluble Flt-1 expression results in decreased ocular and tumor neovascularization. PloS one, 7(3), e33576.
  14. Owen LA, Morrison MA, Hoffman RO, Yoder BA, DeAngelis M (2017). Retinopathy of prematurity: A comprehensive risk analysis for prevention and prediction of disease. PloS one, 12(2), e0171467.
  15. Owen LA, Hartnett M (2014). Current concepts of oxygen management in retinopathy of prematurity. Journal of ophthalmic & vision research, 9(1), 94-100.
  16. Luo L, Uehara H, Zhang X, Das SK, Olsen T, Holt D, Simonis JM, Jackman K, Singh N, Miya TR, Huang W, Ahmed F, Bastos-Carvalho A, Le YZ, Mamalis C, Chiodo VA, Hauswirth WW, Baffi J, Lacal PM, Orecchia A, Ferrara N, Gao G, Young-Hee K, Fu Y, Owen L, Albuquerque R, Baehr W, Thomas K, Li DY, Chalam KV, Shibuya M, Grisanti S, Wilson DJ, Ambati J, Ambati B (2013). Photoreceptor avascular privilege is shielded by soluble VEGF receptor-1. eLife, 2, e00324.
  17. Ibrahim AS, Hussein K, Wang F, Wan M, Saad N, Essa M, Kim I, Shakoor A, Owen LA, DeAngelis MM, Al-Shabrawey (2020). Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP)4 But Not BMP2 Disrupts the Barrier Integrity of Retinal Pigment Epithelia and Induces Their Migration: A Potential Role in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Journal of clinical medicine, 9(7),
  18. Hicks PM, Melendez SAC, Vitale A, Self W, Hartnett ME, Bernstein P, Morgan DJ, Feehan M, Shakoor A, Kim I, Owen LA, DeAngelis M (2019). Genetic Epidemiologic Analysis of Hypertensive Retinopathy in an Underrepresented and Rare Federally Recognized Native American Population of the Intermountain West. Journal of community medicine & public health, 3(1),
  19. Carroll L, Owen LA. (2020). Current evidence and outcomes for retinopathy of prematurity prevention: insight into novel maternal and placental contribution. Explor Med. 2020;1:4-26. doi: 10.37349/emed.2020.00002. Epub 2020 Feb 29. PubMed PMID: 32342063; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7185238.
  20. Hicks PM, Siedlecki A, Haaland B, Owen LA, Au E, Feehan M, et al (2021). A Global Genetic Epidemiological Review of Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome. Exploration of medicine, 2021 (2), 527-43.
  21. Chen JS, Coyner AS, Paul Chan RV, Hartnett ME, Moshfeghi DM, Owen LA, Kalpathy-Cramer J, Chiang MF, Campbell J (2021). Ophthalmology: Applications and Realismof Synthetic Retinal Images from Generative Adversarial Networks. Ophthalmology science, 1(4),
  22. Feehan M, Owen LA, McKinnon IM, DeAngelis M (2021). Artificial Intelligence, Heuristic Biases, and the Optimization of Health Outcomes: Cautionary Optimism. Journal of clinical medicine, 10(22),
  23. Samra YA, Kira D, Rajpurohit P, Mohamed R, Owen LA, Shakoor A, Kim IK, DeAngelis MM, Sheibani N, Al-Shabrawey M, Tawfik (2021). Implication of N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor in Homocysteine-Induced Age-Related Macular Degeneration. International journal of molecular sciences, 22(17),
  24. Hicks PM, Au E, Self W, Haaland B, Feehan M, Owen LA, Siedlecki A, Nuttall E, Harrison D, Reynolds AL, Lillvis JH, Sieminski S, Shulman JP, Barnoya M, Noguera Prera JJ, Gonzalez O, Murtaugh MA, Williams LB, Farkas MH, Crandall AS, DeAngelis M (2021). Pseudoexfoliation and Cataract Syndrome Associated with Genetic and Epidemiological Factors in a Mayan Cohort of Guatemala. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(14),
  25. Owen LA, Shirer K, Collazo SA, Szczotka K, Baker S, Wood B, Carroll L, Haaland B, Iwata T, Katikaneni LD, DeAngelis M (2020). The Serine Protease HTRA-1 Is a Biomarker for ROP and Mediates Retinal Neovascularization. Frontiers in molecular neuroscience, 13, 605918.
  26. Hicks PM, Haaland B, Feehan M, Crandall AS, Pettey JH, Nuttall E, Self W, Hartnett ME, Bernstein P, Vitale A, Shakoor A, Shulman JP, Sieminski SF, Kim I, Owen LA, Murtaugh MA, Noyes A, DeAngelis M (2020). Systemic Disease and Ocular Comorbidity Analysis of Geographically Isolated Federally Recognized American Indian Tribes of the Intermountain West. Journal of clinical medicine, 9(11),
  27. Zhang C, Owen LA, Lillvis JH, Zhang SX, Kim IK, DeAngelis M (2022). AMD Genomics: Non-Coding RNAs as Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets. 2022 Mar 9;11(6).doi: 10.3390/jcm11061484.Review.PubMed PMID: 35329812; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8954267. Journal of Clinical Medicine,
  28. Hanif A, Lu C, Chang K, Singh P, Coyner AS, Brown JM, Ostmo S, Chan RVP, Rubin D, Chiang MF, Kalpathy-Cramer J, Campbell J (2022). Federated Learning for Multicenter Collaboration in Ophthalmology: Implications for Clinical Diagnosis and Disease Epidemiology. 2022 Aug;6(8):650-656.doi: 10.1016/j.oret.2022.03.005.Epub 2022 Mar 16.PubMed PMID: 35304305; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9357070. Ophthalmology. Retina,
  29. Lu C, Hanif A, Singh P, Chang K, Coyner AS, Brown JM, Ostmo S, Chan RVP, Rubin D, Chiang MF, Campbell JP, Kalpathy-Cramer (2022). Federated Learning for Multicenter Collaboration in Ophthalmology: Improving Classification Performance in Retinopathy of Prematurity. 2022 Aug;6(8):657-663.doi: 10.1016/j.oret.2022.02.015.Epub 2022 Mar 14.PubMed PMID: 35296449. Ophthalmology. Retina,
  30. Nagel-Wolfrum K, Fadl BR, Becker MM, Wunderlich KA, Schäfer J, Sturm D, Fritze J, Gür B, Kaplan L, Andreani T, Goldmann T, Brooks M, Starostik MR, Lokhande A, Apel M, Fath KR, Stingl K, Kohl S, DeAngelis MM, Schlötzer-Schrehardt U, Kim IK, Owen LA, Vetter JM, Pfeiffer N, Andrade-Navarro MA, Grosche A, Swaroop A, Wolfrum (2022). Expression and Subcellular Localization of USH1C/Hamonin in Human Retina Provides Insights Into Pathomechanisms and Therapy. 2023 Jan 13;32(3):431-449. doi:10.1093/hmg/ddac211. PubMed PMID: 35997788; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9851744. . Human molecular genetics,
  31. Barr JL, Feehan M, Tak C, Owen LA, Finley RC, Cromwell PA, Lillvis JH, Hicks PM, Au E, Farkas MH, Weiner A, Reynolds AL, Sieminski SF, Sherva RM, Munger MA, Brilliant MH, DeAngelis M (2023). Heritable Risk and Protective Genetic Components of Glaucoma Medication Non-Adherence. International journal of molecular sciences, 24(6),
  32. Chen JS, Coyner AS, Chan RVP, Hartnett ME, Moshfeghi DM, Owen LA, Kalpathy-Cramer J, Chiang MF, Campbell J (2021). Deepfakes in Ophthalmology: Applications and Realism of Synthetic Retinal Images from Generative Adversarial Networks. Ophthalmology science, 1(4), 100079.
  33. Orozco LD, Owen LA, Hofmann J, Stockwell AD, Tao J, Haller S, Mukundan VT, Clarke C, Lund J, Sridhar A, Mayba O, Barr JL, Zavala RA, Graves EC, Zhang C, Husami N, Finley R, Au E, Lillvis JH, Farkas MH, Shakoor A, Sherva R, Kim IK, Kaminker JS, Townsend MJ, Farrer LA, Yaspan BL, Chen HH, DeAngelis M (2023). A systems biology approach uncovers novel disease mechanisms in age-related macular degeneration. Cell genomics, 3(6), 100302.
  34. Liang Q, Cheng X, Wang J, Owen L, Shakoor A, Lillvis JL, Zhang C, Farkas M, Kim IK, Li Y, DeAngelis M, Chen (2023). A multi-omics atlas of the human retina at single-cell resolution. Cell genomics, 3(6), 100298.
  35. Liang Q, Dharmat R, Owen L, Shakoor A, Li Y, Kim S, Vitale A, Kim I, Morgan D, Liang S, Wu N, Chen K, DeAngelis MM, Chen (2019). Single-nuclei RNA-seq on human retinal tissue provides improved transcriptome profiling. Nature communications, 10(1), 5743.
  36. Wang J, Cheng X, Liang Q, Owen LA, Lu J, Zheng Y, Wang M, Chen S, DeAngelis MM, Li Y, Chen (2023). Single-cell multiomics of the human retina reveals hierarchical transcription factor collaboration in mediating cell type-specific effects of genetic variants on gene regulation. Genome biology, 24(1), 269.
  37. Shwani T, Zhang C, Owen LA, Shakoor A, Vitale AT, Lillvis JH, Barr JL, Cromwell P, Finley R, Husami N, Au E, Zavala RA, Graves EC, Zhang SX, Farkas MH, Ammar DA, Allison KM, Tawfik A, Sherva RM, Li M, Stambolian D, Kim IK, Farrer LA, DeAngelis M (2023). Patterns of Gene Expression, Splicing, and Allele-Specific Expression Vary among Macular Tissues and Clinical Stages of Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Cells, 12(23),
  38. Li X, Owen LA, Taylor KD, Ostmo S, Chen YI, Coyner AS, Sonmez K, Hartnett ME, Guo X, Ipp E, Roll K, Genter P, Chan RVP, DeAngelis MM, Chiang MF, Campbell JP, Rotter JI, i-ROP Consortiu (2024). Genome-wide association identifies novel ROP risk loci in a multiethnic cohort. Communications biology, 7(1), 107.
  39. Li J, Wang J, Ibarra IL, Cheng X, Luecken MD, Lu J, Monavarfeshani A, Yan W, Zheng Y, Zuo Z, Colborn SLZ, Cortez BS, Owen LA, Tran NM, Shekhar K, Sanes JR, Stout JT, Chen S, Li Y, DeAngelis MM, Theis FJ, Chen (2023). Integrated multi-omics single cell atlas of the human retina.
  40. Guo S, Liu X, Cheng X, Jiang Y, Ji S, Liang Q, Koval A, Li Y, Owen LA, Kim IK, Aparicio A, Shen JP, Kopetz S, Weinstein JN, DeAngelis MM, Chen R, Wang (2023). DeMixSC: a deconvolution framework that uses single-cell sequencing plus a small benchmark dataset for improved analysis of cell-type ratios in complex tissue samples.
  41. Clark R, Lee SS, Du R, Wang Y, Kneepkens SCM, Charng J, Huang Y, Hunter ML, Jiang C, Tideman JWL, Melles RB, Klaver CCW, Mackey DA, Williams C, Choquet H, Ohno-Matsui K, Guggenheim JA, CREAM Consortium, UK Biobank Eye and Vision Consortiu (2023). A new polygenic score for refractive error improves detection of children at risk of high myopia but not the prediction of those at risk of myopic macular degeneration. EBioMedicine, 91, 104551.
  42. Owen LA, Zhang C, Shirer K, Carroll L, Wood B, Szczotka K, Cornia C, Stubben C, Fung C, Yost CC, Katikaneni LD, DeAngelis MM, Comstock (2023). Placental Inflammation Significantly Correlates with Reduced Risk for Retinopathy of Prematurity. The American journal of pathology, 193(11), 1776-1788.
  43. Guo S, Liu X, Cheng X, Jiang Y, Ji S, Liang Q, Koval A, Li Y, Owen LA, Kim IK, Aparicio A, Lee S, Sood AK, Kopetz S, Shen JP, Weinstein JN, DeAngelis MM, Chen R, Wang (2025). A deconvolution framework that uses single-cell sequencing plus a small benchmark data set for accurate analysis of cell type ratios in complex tissue samples. Genome research, 35(1), 147-161.
  44. Wu B, Bennett HM, Ye X, Sridhar A, Eidenschenk C, Everett C, Nazarova EV, Chen HH, Kim IK, Deangelis M, Owen LA, Chen C, Lau J, Shi M, Lund JM, Xavier-Magalhães A, Patel N, Liang Y, Modrusan Z, Darmanis (2024). Overloading And unpacKing (OAK) - droplet-based combinatorial indexing for ultra-high throughput single-cell multiomic profiling. Nature communications, 15(1), 9146.
  45. Harrie RP, Levin AM, Owen (2021). Recurrent Subconjunctival Hemorrhage in a Child With an Orbital Mass. JAMA ophthalmology, 139(1), 125-126.

Book Chapter

  1. Zavala, R., Hicks, P., Lillvis, J., Zang, C., Farkas, M., Owen, L., DeAngelis, M (2021). Genetics of Age-related Macular Degeneration (Peer-Reviewed).
  2. Patrice M. Hicks, Leah A. Owen, Margaret M. DeAngeli (2021). Global Women's Eye Health: A Genetic Epidemiologic Perspective (Peer-Reviewed).

Case Report

  1. MacLean KD, Cole SC, Ford JR, Owen L, Mamalis N, Patel BC (2016). Thymic Origin Neuroendocrine Carcinoma Metastasizing to the Orbit in an Otherwise Asymptomatic Patient. Ophthalmic Plast Reconstr Surg, 32(1), e21-3.
  2. Ford JR, Werner L, Owen L, Vasavada SA, Crandall (2014). Spontaneous bilateral anterior partial in-the-bag intraocular lens dislocation following routine annual eye examination. Journal of cataract and refractive surgery, 40(9), 1561-4.
  3. Harrie, RP, Levine, AM, Owen, LA (2020). Recurrent Subconjunctival Hemorrhage in a Child With an Orbital Mass. JAMA ophthalmology,

Editorial

  1. Owen LA, Byrd J, Tabin (2015). The Problem of Childhood Blindness. Asia-Pacific journal of ophthalmology (Philadelphia, Pa.), 4(6), 317-8.

Abstract

  1. Smith R, Hancock JD, Kinsey M, Owen LA, Lessnick S (2007). Functional analysis of EWS/FLI target genes via an RNAi mini-library. Abstract #07-AB-5870-AACR,
  2. Owen LA, Holt DG, Uehara H, Ambati B (2013). SAMHD1 is a Novel Regulator of Soluble Flt-1. Abstract # 1613234,
  3. Owen LA, Smith R, Trem DJ, Wong JS, Whangbo JS, Golub TR, Lessnick S (2006). Microarray analysis of EWS/FLI in Ewing's sarcoma reveals a critical role for NKX2.2 in oncogenesis. Abstract 524,

Other

  1. Owen L (2008). Geomorphology: How Tibet might keep its edge. Nature, 455(7214), 748-9.

Video/Film/CD/Web/Podcast

  1. Owen, L (2016). New ROP Risk Model. American Academy of Ophthalmology. https://www.aao.org/pediatric-center-detail/new-rop-risk-model-3. .