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University of Maryland, Baltimore County, team wins NEI retina challenge
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A team from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, won the National Eye Institute Retina Organoid Challenge with its proposal to create a living model of the human retina, according to an NEI press release.
Led by Erin Lavik, ScD, the team proposed building a retina by screen-printing adult neural progenitor-derived retinal neurons in layers that mimic the structure of the human retina, the release said.
The concept, which won $90,000, was one of 13 entries in the NEI 3-D ROC, which seeks to design human retinas from stem cells
“We intend for these concepts to push the development of retinal organoids,” NEI Director Paul A. Sieving, MD, PhD, said in the release. “If developed, these next-generation human retina models would be invaluable resources for researchers in academia and industry.”
Five teams were awarded an honorable mention:
Rebecca Carrier, PhD, Northeastern University, Boston;
David Gamm, MD, PhD, University of Wisconsin, Madison;
Wei Liu, PhD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York;
Daniel Pelaez, PhD, University of Miami, Florida; and
Katja Schenke-Layland, PhD, Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology, Stuttgart, Germany.
A second phase of the challenge is planned for teams to demonstrate the functionality of a retina organoid prototype.