Dr. Sophie Deng, a corneal specialist and associate professor of ophthalmology at UCLA's Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, been awarded $699,983 by the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state's stem cell agency. The award will support her research to regenerate functional human corneal epithelial progenitor cells to treat a blinding corneal disorder called limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD).
Corneal diseases are the second leading cause of treatable blindness in the world, affecting more than 3.2 million people worldwide. LSCD has been recognized as a major cause, either primary or secondary, of significant visual loss and blindness in many common corneal disorders, such as chemical/thermal burn, keratopathy related to contact lens wear, and severe infection and inflammation.
Deng, noted by CIRM as a leader in the field, was one of only two California investigators to receive CIRM Bridging Fund grants. In 2010, she was awarded a CIRM Early Translational II grant for $1.6 million in 2010 for this project. The new Bridge grant acknowledges the critical success of her project to-date and will provide the basis for new investigational drug applications to the FDA that will combine biology and engineering tools to efficiently expand and regenerate patient-specific limbal stem cells for transplantation to treat blindness through the initiation of human clinical trials.
Read the complete announcement at here.
