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National Institutes of Health to fund six neural regeneration projects for $12.4 million
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The National Institutes of Health announced it will fund six projects for $12.4 million over 3 years to identify biological factors that affect neural regeneration in the retina. The funding and projects are part of the National Eye Institute’s Audacious Goals Initiative.
The initiative’s goal is to restore vision by regenerating neurons and their connections in the eye and visual system, according to a press release.
The six projects include:
Molecular discovery for optic nerve regeneration;
Screening for molecules that promote photoreceptor synaptogenesis;
Evaluation of novel targets for retinal ganglion cell axon regeneration;
Novel activators of regeneration in Muller glia;
Comparative transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses of Muller glia reprogramming; and
Novel targets to promote RGC axon regeneration: Insights from unique retinal ganglion cell cohorts.
“Understanding factors that mediate the regeneration of neurons and the growth of axons is crucial for the development of breakthrough therapies for blinding diseases. What we learn through these projects will have a health impact beyond vision,” Paul A. Sieving, MD, PhD, director of the NEI, said in the release.
Most cases of irreversible blindness result from the loss of neurons in the retina, and many common eye diseases put the cells at risk, according to the release.