Three UCLA scientists receive grants totaling more than $18 million

Three researchers at the  Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have received awards totaling more than $18 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state’s stem cell agency. The recipients areDr. Sophie Deng, professor of ophthalmology at the UCLA Stein Eye Institute;  Yvonne Chen, a UCLA associate professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics; andDr. Caroline Kuo, a UCLA assistant clinical professor of pediatrics. The awards were announced at a CIRM meeting today.Deng ’s four-year, $10.3 million award will fund a clinical trial for a blinding eye condition called limbal stem cell deficiency. Limbal stem cells are specialized stem cells in eye tissue that help maintain the health of the cornea. Because of genetic defects or injuries caused by infections, burns, surgeries or other factors, some people do not have enough limbal stem cells, which results in pain, corneal scarring and blindness.The approach she is testing involves extracting a small number of limbal stem cells from a person ’s eye, multiplying them in a lab, and then transplanting them back into the eye, where they could regenerate the cornea and restore vision. The research will be conducted in collaboration with the UCLA –UCI Alpha Stem Cell Clinic, a partnership between UCLA and UC Irvine.The grants awarded to Chen and Kuo are for projects that are heading toward the FDA ’s investigational new drug applicat...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news