Dominik Lewandowski
Biography
Dominik Lewandowski, Ph.D., is an Assistant Project Scientist II at the Center for Translational Vision Research at the University of California, Irvine. His research focuses on lipid metabolism in retinal degenerative diseases, particularly age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, and Stargardt disease. Lewandowski has developed animal models using genetic and pharmacological approaches to investigate how ceramide modulation can protect against retinal pigment epithelium and photoreceptor cell death, with findings that have potential applications for future therapeutic strategies.
Lewandowski has secured three research grants totaling $215,000 from the Knights Templar Eye Foundation and the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute to investigate novel strategies for treating retinitis pigmentosa and juvenile macular degeneration. His work integrates multiple methodologies, including transcriptomics, lipidomics, and proteomics, with functional vision assessments such as electroretinography, optical coherence tomography, and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy. He has published nine scientific manuscripts in journals including Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Cell Reports, and Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Lewandowski received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, graduating summa cum laude. His doctoral work on tick-bacteria protein interactions earned him the Prime Minister of Poland Award for Outstanding Ph.D. Thesis. He completed postdoctoral training at Case Western Reserve University and the University of California, Irvine, where he received the Outstanding Research Fellow award from the UCI School of Medicine in 2022.
Return to topEducation
- M.S. in Biotechnology, University of Life Sciences, Poznan, 2009
- Ph.D. in Biochemistry And Molecular Biology, Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, PAS, 2016
Distinctions
- Prime Minister of Poland Award for Outstanding Ph.D. Thesis, 2017
- Pediatric Ophthalmology Research Grant, Knights Templar Eye Foundation, 2023, 2025
- International Ph.D. Scholarship, Foundation for Polish Science, 2009
- Mozolowski Award for best-presented research, Polish Biochemical Society at BIO 2014, 2014
- Society 20/20 Pilot Research Grant, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute at UC Irvine, 2022
- Scholarship for Ph.D. Students Specializing in Majors Strategic for Wielkopolska's Development, European Union, 2013
- Summa Cum Laude for Ph.D. Thesis, Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, PAS, 2016
- Outstanding Fellow Research Award, University of California Irvine, School of Medicine, 2022
- Best Poster Award at 8th Bench to Bedside Symposium, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, 2022
- Poznan City Award for Distinguished Doctoral Thesis, 2017
Areas of Expertise
- Retinal Degeneration Therapeutics
- Ceramide Metabolism Modulation
- Photoreceptor Cell Death Mechanisms
- Drug Repurposing Strategies
- Very Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids
- Conditional Knockout Mouse Models
- High-Throughput Enzyme Inhibitor Screening
Recent Publications
- Lindfors S., Schmotz C., Lewandowski D., Hau A., Saikko L., Lehtonen E., Majaniemi V., Karhe M., Naams J.-B., Nisen H., Tienari J., Saleem M.A., Pfeil K., Bugger H., Pietilainen K.H., Mirtti T., Palczewski K., Lehtonen S., “Integrin Trafficking, Fibronectin Architecture, and Glomerular Injury upon Adiponectin Receptor 1 Depletion” (opens in new tab), Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, vol. 36, pp. 825-844, 2025.
- Tworak A., Smidak R., Menezes C.R., Du S.W., Suh S., Choi E.H., Imanishi S.S., Dong Z., Lewandowski D., Fong K.E., Grigorean G., Pinto A.F.M., Xu Q., Skowronska-Krawczyk D., Blackshaw S., Imanishi Y., Palczewski K., “MFRP is a molecular hub that organizes the apical membrane of RPE cells by engaging in interactions with specific proteins and lipids” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 122, 2025.
- Dominik Lewandowski, “Proof-of-concept study for DEGS1 inhibition showing dose-dependent ceramide reduction in RPE and mitigation of sodium iodate-induced damage”, Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, 2024.
- Leinonen H, Zhang J, Lewandowski D, Palczewski K, “A combination treatment based on drug repurposing demonstrates mutation-agnostic efficacy in pre-clinical retinopathy models” (opens in new tab), Nature Communications, vol. 15, pp. 5943, 2024.
- Du SW, Komirisetty R, Lewandowski D, Choi EH, Panas D, Suh S, Tabaka M, Radu RA, Palczewski K, “Conditional deletion of miR-204 and miR-211 in murine retinal pigment epithelium results in retinal degeneration” (opens in new tab), Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 300, 2024.
- Bassetto M, Kolesnikov AV, Lewandowski D, Kiser JZ, Halabi M, Kiser PD, “Dominant role for pigment epithelial CRALBP in supplying visual chromophore to photoreceptors” (opens in new tab), Cell Reports, vol. 43, no. 5, pp. 114143, 2024.
- Lewandowski D, Gao F, Imanishi S, Tworak A, Bassetto M, Dong Z, Palczewski K, “Restoring retinal polyunsaturated fatty acid balance and retina function by targeting ceramide in AdipoR1 deficient mice” (opens in new tab), Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 300, pp. 107291, 2024.
- Dominik Lewandowski, “Conditional deletion of dihydroceramide desaturase 1 (Degs1) in mouse RPE results in dose-dependent reduction of ceramide production and retinal protection against sodium iodate-induced oxidative damage”, Cell Reports, 2023.
- Dominik Lewandowski, “Pharmacological lowering of ceramide increases very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC-PUFAs) in retina and RPE in retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) mouse models”, PNAS, 2023.
- Engfer ZJ, Lewandowski D, Dong Z, Palczewski K, “Distinct mouse models of Stargardt disease display differences in pharmacological targeting of ceramides and inflammatory responses” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 120, no. 50, pp. e2314698120, 2023.
- Tworak A, Kolesnikov AV, Hong JD, Choi EH, Luu JC, Palczewska G, Dong Z, Lewandowski D, Palczewski K, “Rapid RGR-dependent visual pigment recycling is mediated by the RPE and specialized Müller glia” (opens in new tab), Cell Reports, vol. 42, no. 8, 2023.
- Luu JC, Saadane A, Leinonen H, Choi EH, Gao F, Lewandowski D, Palczewski K, “Stress resilience-enhancing drugs preserve tissue structure and function in degenerating retina via phosphodiesterase inhibition” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 120, no. 19, pp. e2221045120, 2023.
- Dominik Lewandowski, “Integration and analysis of transcriptomic, lipidomic, and proteomic data along with AMPK and PPARα signaling pathways to find targets in dysregulated lipid metabolism in retinitis pigmentosa (RP) mouse model”, Nature Communications, 2022.
- Lewandowski D, Foik AT, Smidak R, Palczewski K, “Inhibition of ceramide accumulation in AdipoR1-/- mice increases photoreceptor survival and improves vision” (opens in new tab), JCI Insight, vol. 7, 2022.
- Lewandowski D, Sander CL, Tworak A, Gao F, Xu Q, Skowronska-Krawczyk D, “Dynamic lipid turnover in photoreceptors and retinal pigment epithelium throughout life” (opens in new tab), Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, vol. 89, 2021.
- Luu J., Kallestad L., Hoang T., Lewandowski D., Dong Z., Blackshaw S., Palczewski K., “Epigenetic hallmarks of age-related macular degeneration are recapitulated in a photosensitive mouse model” (opens in new tab), Human Molecular Genetics, vol. 29, pp. 2611-2624, 2020.
Contact Information
Email: lewandod@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-2020
Address: 2216 Gillespie, Irvine, CA 92697
Return to topThis profile was created with the help of AI.
Last updated on 3/7/2026.