Research to Prevent Blindness

RPB Funding Helps Researchers Revive Light-Sensing Cells in Organ Donor Eyes

Researchers have long been constrained by the models (including animal models) that they are able to use for research into human diseases; sometimes, research in these models does not translate well to human therapies. But today, researchers from the John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah, including Frans Vinberg, PhD, a recipient of an RPB / Dr. H. James and Carole Free Career Development Award, and collaborators from Scripps Research, have published research in Nature showing that they have revived light-sensing neuron cells in organ donor eyes, opening up new research avenues using human donor eyes.

Frans Vinberg, PhD, and Fatima Abbas, PhD, of the John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah in the Vinberg lab. Photo Credit: John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah.

According to a University of Utah press release, the researchers have restored communication between these cells as part of a series of discoveries that stand to transform both brain and vision research.

RPB is proud to have supported this groundbreaking work with Dr. Vinberg’s RPB / Dr. H. James and Carole Free Career Development Award and an Unrestricted Grant to the University of Utah Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.

top

May 11, 2022

Feature Story

For the Media

Macular Degeneration

Top Story

Related News: Feature Story, For the Media, Macular Degeneration, Top Story

Vision Research Funding Partnership Event Takes Place Today

Leaders of organizations that fund vision research convene in Washington, D.C. to increase collaboration and maximize the impact of research funding for sight-threatening diseases.

Research to Prevent Blindness and Alcon Award Glaucoma Grant

Dr. Alex Huang of the University of California San Diego School of Medicine will study glaucoma filtration surgeries with the aim of improving surgical success for lowering eye pressure and providing neuroprotection.

Researchers Build An “Aging Clock” To Help Treat Eye Disease

The new way to measure ocular aging opens treatment avenues for numerous eye diseases.

Research to Prevent Blindness and the American Academy of Ophthalmology Award Big Data Research Grants for Improved Patient Care

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) today announced the 2023 recipients of the RPB/AAO Award for IRIS Registry Research.