Project Grant R21EY039436
- The National Eye Institute awarded West Virginia University Research Corporation $420,750 on June 1, 2026, under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to develop a novel fluorescence-based pulse-chase labeling technique combined with super-resolution microscopy for tracking protein trafficking dynamics in mouse rod photoreceptor neurons. The research addresses knowledge gaps in mammalian photoreceptor cell biology by using SNAP-TAG technology to label nascent photoreceptor proteins and...
- The National Eye Institute (part of the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health) awarded West Virginia University Research Corporation $2.739 million on September 15, 2025, under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to develop therapies for photoreceptor outer segment defects associated with blinding diseases. The research identifies and develops therapeutic interventions for defects in protein networks essential to photoreceptor outer segment morphogenesis....
- The National Eye Institute awarded West Virginia University Research Corporation $550,584 on September 1, 2026, under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to investigate the mechanism of nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyltransferase-1 (NMNAT1) in retinal photoreceptor biogenesis and health. The project addresses why mutations in NMNAT1 cause Leber congenital amaurosis, a severe early-onset blinding disorder. Research will determine whether elevated nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) is...
- The National Eye Institute awarded the University of Washington $622,804 under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) on August 1, 2026, to establish the cellular and molecular basis of the cone optoretinogram and standardize methods for clinical application. The cone optoretinogram measures length changes of individual human cone outer segments at nanometer-millisecond scale in response to light, using adaptive optics and optical coherence tomography. The research aims to develop...
- The National Eye Institute awarded West Virginia University Research Corporation $146,541 on September 1, 2026, under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to investigate the interplay of hemodynamic and biomechanical factors in glaucoma pathophysiology using integrated ultrasound imaging methods. The project integrates super-resolution ultrasound localization microscopy with ultrasound elastography strain tracking in a small animal model to examine how systemic and ocular hemodynamics...
- The National Eye Institute, part of the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health, awarded the University of Wisconsin–Madison $689,706 on August 1, 2026, under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to establish human stem cell-derived retinal organoids as functional models of human retina for studying disease and testing therapies. The award funds research to identify and overcome limitations in retinal organoids derived from human pluripotent stem cells....
- The National Eye Institute awarded Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary $663,406 on April 1, 2026, under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of secondary cone degeneration in models of retinitis pigmentosa. The recipient will develop a novel AAV-based retinoic acid signaling activator and test whether it can improve photopic visual acuity in multiple mouse models of retinitis pigmentosa. The work will also aim to elucidate the molecular and cellular...
- The National Eye Institute awarded Duke University $405,373 on June 1, 2026, under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to characterize bicornuate cones, a novel type of cone photoreceptor cell discovered in the human retina that contains two fully developed outer segments emanating from a single inner segment. The project will conduct two specific aims. Aim 1 employs high-resolution ultrastructural analysis using three-dimensional electron tomography to determine the number of centrioles...
- The National Eye Institute awarded The University of Iowa $440,263 on May 1, 2026, under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to investigate osmotic regulation in cone dystrophy with supernormal rod response (CDSRR), a rare inherited retinal disease causing progressive vision loss beginning in early childhood. The project uses state-of-the-art imaging biomarkers and transcriptomics to evaluate osmotic regulation in mouse models of CDSRR, a disease caused by mutations in the KV2.1/KV8.2...
- The National Eye Institute awarded the University of Pittsburgh $2,077,596 on September 30, 2025, under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to conduct electrophysiological and computational research on sensorimotor processing in the oculomotor system, specifically examining how the superior colliculus processes moving targets and generates interceptive saccades. The research addresses gaps in understanding how the nervous system estimates the future location of moving objects to guide...
The National Eye Institute awarded West Virginia University Research Corporation $420,750 on September 1, 2026, under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to investigate molecular regulators of cone opsin trafficking in the retina. The recipient will identify, characterize, and validate novel OPN1MW (medium-wavelength cone opsin) trafficking partners using two innovative knock-in mouse models. In the first aim, researchers will use OPN1MW.ALFA knock-in mice to isolate stable, direct opsin trafficking partners via ALFA-affinity purification followed by proteomic analysis, leveraging the ALFA-tag to enhance purification efficiency and imaging resolution to identify core components of stable opsin transport complexes. In the second aim, the team will employ OPN1MW.BioID2.ALFA mice to capture transient protein interactions. This work addresses a significant knowledge gap in cone opsin trafficking mechanisms, which differ from the better-characterized rhodopsin trafficking in rods and are disrupted in severe retinal disorders including blue cone monochromacy, X-linked cone dystrophy, red-green color vision deficiency, and Bornholm eye disease. The research supports the long-term goal of developing gene therapies to restore cone function in these conditions by establishing precise trafficking mechanisms that deliver opsins from the cone inner segment to the cone outer segment. Performance occurs in Morgantown, West Virginia, with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028.
Mod # | Description | ReasonForModification | Federal Obligation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not listed | $420.8k | 8/21/26 |