Eye Researchers Awarded Grant for Stem-Cell Research in …

Madison, Wisconsin - A team of researchers based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will receive a four-year, $250,000 Catalyst Award grant from Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB), in partnership with the International Retinal Research Foundation, to advance stem cell research to treat vision loss from age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Dr. David M. Gamm, the director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, will lead the consortium investigating stem-cell approaches for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which affects more than two million Americans 50 and older.

Dr. Aparna Lakkaraju, also in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health's Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences with Gamm, and Dr. Janis Eells, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, are the other members of the research team.

The goal is to study how to improve and maintain the health and function of retinal cells - created from induced pluripotent stem cells - before and after they are put into a diseased eye. These donor cells are placed into a hostile environment, where they need to survive and thrive in order to offer hope of a long-term benefit for patients with AMD. To accomplish this goal, they want to maximize the function of mitochondria, the cells energy-producing powerhouses.

There are three key pieces to this study for which we all have important roles, says Gamm. My lab can create unlimited supplies of the needed retinal cells, called retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), from human induced pluripotent stem cells. Dr. Eells is a mitochondria expert and Dr. Lakkaraju is an expert in the study of RPE cells. In addition, we all have expertise in AMD. Its great to be able to work with such world-class collaborators here in Wisconsin.

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Eye Researchers Awarded Grant for Stem-Cell Research in ...