Dr. Dorrell is a senior staff scientist at the Lowy Medical Research Institute. He oversees collaborations with extramural researchers, establishes connections with outside researchers who can help with LMRI’s MacTel research, and provides feedback on intramural projects.
In addition to his role at LMRI, Dr. Dorrell is an Associate Professor of Biology at Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU). PLNU is a liberal-arts, undergraduate institution. There, he teaches Cell Biology, Developmental Biology, and Research Methodology. Dr. Dorrell maintains an active research program studying angiogenesis in relation to development and cancer progression.
His lab is focused on the use of combination angiostatics to prevent tumor vascularization, and strategies to target cells derived from the immune system (tumor associated macrophages) for systematic delivery of cancer therapies.
Prior to his current position, Dr. Dorrell was a post-doctoral fellow in the Friedlander Lab at The Scripps Research Institute where he studied degenerative eye diseases, and participated in the MacTel Project for several years.
Based on his knowledge of the MacTel Project and the ongoing basic research programs, Dr. Dorrell was brought on to establish the laboratory research program at the Lowy Medical Research Institute, La Jolla, CA. To do so, he took a one year sabbatical from his teaching responsibilities at PLNU. Since his sabbatical ended, he has stayed on at LMRI in a part-time capacity. Dr. Dorrell is excited to use this incredible opportunity to contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of disease, and to help provide momentum towards identifying potential treatment modalities moving forward.