Research to prevent vision loss from glaucoma will be aided by a project funded through a major National Eye Institute effort in regenerative medicine. The lab of Tom Reh, professor of biological structure at the UW School of Medicine, will join with scientists at other institutions to look at a possible cell-replacement approach to correcting degeneration of the optic nerve.
The multi-institutional team is one of five to receive grants announced today to develop disease models in laboratories for studying a range of blinding conditions. In addition to glaucoma, these include retinosa pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, loss of color photoreceptors, optic nerve trauma and other damage or progressive deterioration in the eye. This program will award a national total of $30 million over five years for the Audacious Goals Intitative.
