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NEI grant to fund gene, stem cell research for corneal disease

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LOS ANGELES — The National Eye Institute awarded a $3 million grant to Cedars-Sinai stem cell researchers to develop gene and stem cell therapies for corneal disease, according to a press release from Cedars-Sinai.

The 5-year grant will fund research that focuses on treating diabetic keratopathy with gene therapy. Cedars-Sinai researchers recently discovered that corneas in diabetic patients may stop producing proteins that allow corneal stem cells to function normally, which leads to poor wound healing, pain and vision loss, the release said.

Alexander V. Ljubimov, PhD, director of the Ophthalmology Research Laboratories at Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute, is the principal investigator on the grant. Corneal surgeon Yaron Rabinowitz, MD, is serving as co-investigator.