Project Grant R41EY032011

This $440,000 Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI), under Federal Grant Program 93.867 (Vision Research), aims to develop a novel, disease-targeted anti-angiogenic therapy for treating wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The key product being developed is a neutralizing monoclonal antibody that targets a new, CNV-selective angiogenic factor discovered through the awardee's comparative ligandomics technology. This approach differs from currently approved anti-VEGF...

The University of Southern California (USC) received a $480,140 Project Grant from the National Eye Institute (NEI) under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) to develop new treatment strategies for diabetic retinopathy (DR). The key objectives are to: 1) evaluate the targeted delivery of therapeutic extracellular vesicles (exosomes) to areas of retinal vascular dysfunction in DR, and 2) determine if Müller glia-derived exosomes can protect the retinal neurovascular unit and mitigate DR...

This $440,806 Project Grant awarded by the National Eye Institute (CFDA 93.867 - Vision Research) will fund research to define the role of the molecular chaperone protein P58IPK in retinal neurons during the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. The research aims to investigate new molecular pathways by which P58IPK regulates protein and lipid homeostasis through the integrated stress response and lipid glycosylation processes, and evaluate the neuroprotective effects of targeting P58IPK and its...

This federal Project Grant award of $1,523,433.00 from the National Eye Institute (CFDA 93.867 - Vision Research) supports research by the Doheny Eye Institute in Pasadena, California to investigate the mechanobiology of retinal vascular inflammation and degeneration in diabetic retinopathy. The key products and services to be delivered include: Exploring how diabetes-induced stiffening of the retinal capillary basement membrane leads to activation of endothelial cells and inflammation,...

This Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (CFDA 93.867 - Vision Research) provides $306,814 to Piximune, Inc. to develop an antibody-based, gene-agnostic treatment for inherited retinal degeneration, such as retinitis pigmentosa. The proposed approach aims to augment natural mechanisms that eliminate toxic cellular debris from dead and dying photoreceptor cells, thereby protecting surrounding functional cells and preventing secondary retinal damage independent of the causal...

This Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI), under the Vision Research federal grant program (CFDA 93.867), is providing $306,462 to Ifocus Imaging LLC to develop a software platform called OCT-ART-DR. The platform will automate the diagnosis and staging of diabetic retinopathy using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) imaging and artificial intelligence. The key products to be delivered under this award include: 1) Improved AI-based segmentation of OCTA image...

This Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute's Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) is supporting research at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University to investigate the role of neuronal activity on retinal angiogenesis and blood-retina barrier (BRB) maturation. The $248,999 award, effective from May 1, 2025 to April 30, 2028, aims to elucidate how neuronal synaptic activity, specifically cholinergic and glutamatergic neurotransmitters,...

This Cooperative Agreement award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) provides $998,356 to Revive Biotechnology Inc. to develop an oxygen nanobubble platform technology for treating ischemic retinal diseases. The project aims to secure an Investigational New Drug (IND) indication for the treatment of central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO), a leading cause of sudden vision loss, and then expand the technology to...

This Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (CFDA 93.867 - Vision Research) provides funding to Human Cell Co, a for-profit biotechnology research company, to develop a combination therapy for glaucoma. The award, totaling $360,897, will support research to determine if topical application of a nerve growth factor (NGF) mutein (HC201) in combination with oral nicotinamide (NAM) supplementation can more effectively improve retinal ganglion cell function compared to either treatment...

This federal Project Grant award from the National Eye Institute (NEI) under the Vision Research program (CFDA 93.867) provides $144,362 to support research on the role of hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia in the breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier in diabetic retinopathy. The project aims to identify the spatial localization and functions of claudins, key tight junction proteins, in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and test the hypothesis that regulation of RPE claudins by hyperglycemic...