Bio

Dr. Asare-Bediako is a Ghanaian-trained Optometrist who started his career as a Teaching/Research Assistant at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. He obtained a doctorate degree in Vision Science from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, US, where he worked on animal models of diabetic retinopathy and hematopoiesis in Prof. Maria Grant’s lab. Currently, he is a postdoctoral scholar in Prof. Mary Elizabeth Hartnett’s lab studying retinopathy of prematurity. His current interests lie in understanding mechanisms of angiogenesis in retinopathy of prematurity and diabetic retinopathy.

Institute Affiliations

Honors & Awards

  • Johnson & Johnson Vision Student Travel Fellowship, American Academy of Optometry (2021)
  • Qais Farjo, MD Memorial Travel Grant, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (2021)
  • Outstanding PhD Student Award, School of Optometry, University of Alabama at Birmingham (2022)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Member, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (2019 - Present)
  • Member, American Academy of Optometry (2018 - Present)

Professional Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Alabama Birmingham (2023)
  • Doctor of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (2015)
  • OD, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Optometry (2015)
  • PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Vision Science (2023)

Stanford Advisors

Contact

  • Academic
    basareb@stanford.edu
    University - Scholar Department: Ophthalmology Position: Postdoctoral Scholar

Additional Info

All Publications

  • Endothelial MEMO1 Regulates Angiogenic Signaling in a Model of Retinopathy of Prematurity. FASEB bioAdvances Ramshekar, A., Asare-Bediako, B., Nguyen, J., Suresh, A., Simmons, A., Bretz, C. A., Wang, H., Kunz, E., Zaugg, C. J., Wallace-Carrete, C., Hartnett, M. E. 2025; 7 (9): e70051

    Abstract

    Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is important in both developmental and pathologic angiogenesis in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Using a rat model representative of ROP, we found that regulation of VEGF signaling through VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) in retinal microvascular endothelial cells (RMVECs) extended developmental angiogenesis but reduced pathologic angiogenesis, that is, intravitreal neovascularization (IVNV). We identified an adaptor protein, MEMO1, in IVNV in the rat model and tested the hypothesis that MEMO1 in RMVECs was important in IVNV by regulating signaling through VEGFR2. Instead, we found MEMO1 knockdown enhanced phosphorylation of VEGF-induced VEGFR2 and STAT3 and increased wound closure in vitro using cultured human RMVECs. Furthermore, MEMO1 overexpression suppressed VEGF-induced VEGFR2 and STAT3 phosphorylation and dampened VEGF-induced RMVEC wound closure. In contrast, in the absence of VEGF, MEMO1 overexpression promoted RMVEC proliferation in the wound closure assay and AKT phosphorylation, supporting a role for MEMO1 in VEGF-independent angiogenic processes. In vivo, retinal endothelial cell-specific knockdown of MEMO1 in the rat ROP model significantly increased IVNV but did not affect developmental angiogenesis. Our findings support a novel regulatory role for MEMO1 where MEMO1 limits VEGF-driven IVNV and promotes VEGF-independent angiogenic signaling. These results suggest MEMO1 may serve as a protective modulator of pathological angiogenesis in ROP and represent a potential therapeutic target to limit IVNV while preserving physiologic angiogenesis.

    View details for DOI 10.1096/fba.2025-00146

    View details for PubMedID 40936746

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC12422028

  • Phosphorylation of Y1212 (p-Y1212) on VEGFR2 affects developmental angiogenesis and neurogenesis in the retina Asare-Bediako, B., Satheesh, S., Ramshekar, A., Tankersley, M., Beri, S., Bright, M. ASSOC RESEARCH VISION OPHTHALMOLOGY INC. 2025

    View details for Web of Science ID 001560014200012

  • Elucidating the role of MEMO1 in EPO-triggered signaling in retinal microvascular endothelial cells Ramshekar, A., Asare-Bediako, B., Jasmine Nguyen, Suresh, A., Hartnett, M. ASSOC RESEARCH VISION OPHTHALMOLOGY INC. 2024

    View details for Web of Science ID 001312227700347

  • Short-term selective activation of phospho-Y1175 (p-Y1175) on VEGFR2 suppresses retinal endothelial cell migration Asare-Bediako, B., Ramshekar, A., Nguyen, J., Suresh, A., Hartnett, M. ASSOC RESEARCH VISION OPHTHALMOLOGY INC. 2024

    View details for Web of Science ID 001312227706162

  • The calvarium bone marrow responds to acute retinal injury and is resilient to chronic diabetes compared to long bone marrow Calzi, S., Asare-Bediako, B., Prasad, R., Adu-Agyeiwaah, Y., Rosencrans, R. F., Floyd, J., Stanford, D., Lin, A., Lydic, T. A., Boulton, M., Busik, J., Grant, M. B. ASSOC RESEARCH VISION OPHTHALMOLOGY INC. 2024

    View details for Web of Science ID 001312227701023

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7389-9895