NEI Research News

NEI researchers improved a crucial step in the production of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), a tissue they grow in the lab from patient blood cells and are testing in a clinical trial as treatment for AMD.

The National Institutes of Health sponsored its first-ever workshop on cerebral visual impairment (CVI), an umbrella term for subnormal vision resulting from brain injury during development.

The September 14 workshop brought together multidisciplinary experts in extracellular vesicles – cell-secreted nanoparticles that mediate cell-cell communication.

About 50 participants took part in the virtual event, designed to raise awareness of the U.S.- Ireland R&D Partnership Program.

Researchers at the National Eye Institute have mapped the 3D organization of genetic material of key developmental stages of human retinal formation, using intricate models of a retina grown in the lab.

This year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Syfovre (pegcetacoplan) and Izervay (avacincaptad pegol), the very first drugs for treating geographic atrophy (GA), also known as late-stage “dry” age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The National Eye Institute (NEI) has chosen Richard Lee, M.D., Ph.D., as the institute’s clinical director, overseeing clinical research and serving as clinical policy advisor for NEI.

The NEI and partners have published an editorial on the value of being able to store and share eye imaging data in standard formats.

Research funded by the National Eye Institute suggests that low density of pigment in the macula, the region of the retina required for sharp central vision, is associated with thinning of the retina and may serve as an early warning sign of glaucoma.

NEI Director Michael F. Chiang featured recent research by NEI grantee Louis Pasquale, Mount Sinai, in an NIH Director’s Blog post.