Three UMass Chan Medical School researchers are receiving awards from the American Macular Degeneration Fund arsenic portion of the nonprofit’s $1.1 cardinal concern into studies aimed astatine illness prevention, hazard reduction, caller treatments and cures for age-related macular degeneration.
Claudio Punzo, PhD
Claudio Punzo, PhD, subordinate prof of ophthalmology & ocular sciences; Johanna Seddon, MD, ScM, prof of ophthalmology & ocular sciences; and Shun-Yun Cheng, PhD’22, a postdoctoral probe chap successful Dr. Punzo’s lab, are among the 8 recipients of an expanded circular of grants from the fund.
Punzo is the recipient of a $300,000 American Macular Degeneration Foundation Research to Prevent Blindness Catalyst Award to enactment his enactment successful processing a novel, long-lasting and cost-effective attraction for patients with bedewed age-related macular degeneration. He is collaborating with Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, the Remondi Family Chair successful Biomedical Research and prof of RNA therapeutics, connected the research.
Punzo characterizes bedewed age-related macular degeneration arsenic caller humor vessels that interruption from the backmost of the oculus toward the retina. The vessels are leaky, causing a cumulation of humor fluid successful the neural retina.
The existent attraction requires predominant injections—as often arsenic erstwhile a month—of an antibody that acts arsenic a sponge to soak up vascular endothelial growth. Punzo and Dr. Khvorova are processing a siRNA attack that stabilizes the oculus for up to six months.
Johanna Seddon, MD, ScM
“The siRNA therapy we are processing is injected straight into the eye, and it diffuses to the backmost of the eye. By inhibiting the enactment of the vascular endothelial maturation factor, you are fundamentally reducing further humor vas growth. So, if idiosyncratic has that leakage of humor successful the eye, they get instantly treated,” said Punzo. “There is simply a precise precocious accidental that they don’t suffer vision, oregon they don’t suffer a important magnitude of vision.”
Punzo’s grant is funded by the Research to Prevent Blindness and the American Macular Degeneration Foundation for Innovative Research Approaches for age-related macular degeneration.
Dr. Seddon is receiving the American Macular Degeneration Foundation Breakthrough Award hold to proceed her enactment connected caller biologic pathways progressive successful age-related macular degeneration and identifying caller therapeutic targets.
Shun-Yun-CHeng, PhD'22
Seddon is the laminitis and manager of the Macular Degeneration Center of Excellence successful the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences. Seddon, who specializes successful macular degeneration, discovered the nexus betwixt age-related macular degeneration and the dietary intake of lutein, zeaxanthin and omega-3 fatty acids, arsenic good arsenic the payment of a Mediterranean-style fare connected reducing the complaint of progression to precocious stages of age-related macular degeneration.
Dr. Cheng is receiving the American Macular Degeneration Foundation Young Investigator Leadership Award to assistance money her probe connected photoreceptors arsenic initiators successful the improvement of age-related macular degeneration. Cheng discovered an abnormal upregulation of compartment metabolism photoreceptors of age-related macular degeneration patients. She generated an carnal exemplary by mimicking the diseased metabolic signifier successful a mouse. Cheng is progressive successful processing a imaginable therapy that could forestall age-related macular degeneration progression.
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