Project Grant R41EY025890

This $332,179 Project Grant awarded by the National Eye Institute (CFDA 93.867 Vision Research) supports the development of nanobarrier contact lenses that can provide sustained delivery of the drug cysteamine to treat the ocular complications of cystinosis. The lenses are designed to replace the current 8-times daily eye drop regimen, improving patient compliance and reducing side effects from the preservatives and acidic pH in the eye drops. The project aims to demonstrate the lenses can...

This Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute's Vision Research program provides funding of $442,750 to the University of California, Davis for a research project titled "Defining a New Model of Evaporative Dry Eye Disease." The project aims to utilize an emerging murine model of evaporative dry eye disease, which is characterized by a dysfunctional tear film lipid layer, to better understand the pathogenesis of this condition and explore potential therapeutic approaches....

The National Eye Institute awarded a $615,979 Project Grant to Wayne State University to investigate a peptide-based combination therapy for restoring structure and function in the diabetic cornea. The grant falls under the Vision Research federal grant program (CFDA 93.867), which supports research aimed at understanding, preventing, and treating vision-related conditions and diseases. The primary objectives of this 4-year project are to: 1) establish the therapeutic role of TB4 and VIP as a...

This federal Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (CFDA 93.867 Vision Research) provides $246,000 to The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco to conduct research on serum components that support corneal health. The goal is to define the combinations of serum factors, such as growth factors, signaling lipids, and vitamins, that can restore healthy corneal function and treat diverse ocular surface disorders. The research aims to improve the clinical use of...

The National Eye Institute (NEI), under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, awarded a $730,000 Project Grant (CFDA 93.867 - Vision Research) to Human Cell Co, a for-profit biotech firm, to develop an optimized nerve growth factor (NGF) therapy for the treatment of dry eye disease (DED). The funding will support preclinical studies to evaluate the efficacy and mechanism of action of the company's proprietary NGF mutein (HC201) in improving tear film production and corneal...

This Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (CFDA 93.867 - Vision Research) provides $330,169 to ESK Therapeutics, Inc. to commercialize a biologic eyedrop formulation called CornealClear for the treatment of persistent corneal epithelial defects (PCED). The project aims to demonstrate that the CornealClear eyedrops can accelerate corneal wound healing and reduce scarring in a rabbit model, as well as confirm the systemic safety of the prolactin-induced protein (PIP) formulation. If...

This $428,152 Project Grant awarded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), under the Vision Research federal grant program (CFDA 93.867), supports research at Wayne State University to investigate the role of the serine protease matriptase in corneal epithelial homeostasis and repair. The project aims to determine how matriptase promotes corneal epithelial barrier function and tissue repair through regulation of tight junctions and activation of the HGF/c-Met signaling pathway. The research will...

This Project Grant award of $204,875.00 from the National Eye Institute (CFDA 93.867 - Vision Research) to Clemson University aims to evaluate the efficacy of thymosin beta-4 (TB4) as a novel treatment for Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), a serious eye infection that can lead to vision loss. The project has two key objectives: In vitro testing to determine the inhibitory effects of TB4 on Acanthamoeba parasites and its impact on host cell apoptosis and cytokine release. Ex vivo testing using porcine...

This Project Grant award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the Trans-NIH Research Support (CFDA 93.310) program provides $498,248 to the University of Connecticut Health Center (UCHC) to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying corneal and retinal injury caused by exposure to chemical threat agents like nitrogen mustard. The key objectives are to: 1) Examine the role of the p53-PAD axis in driving corneal hypercitrullination, a pathological response, after nitrogen...

This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) provides $215,985.00 to Colorado State University to research a novel immunotherapy targeting local and systemic immunity for the treatment of ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN), an aggressive form of ocular cancer. The key objectives are to: 1) Investigate the local immune responses induced by the liposomal-TLR agonist immunotherapy (LTAC) using tumor biopsy and corneal swab samples,...