DELAWARE: INBRE researcher receives $300K award for eye research
Esther Biswas-Fiss, professor and chair of the Department of Medical and Molecular Sciences (MMSC), has received an Individual Investigator Research Award in the amount of $300,000 from the Foundation Fighting Blindness, a global leader in retinal degenerative disease research. Sam Biswas, professor of medical and molecular sciences, Barry Bodt, senior biostatistician in the College of Health Sciences, and Shawn Polson, associate professor of computer and information sciences and director of UD’s Bioinformatics Core Facility, are co-investigators on the project. The grant will support Biswas-Fiss’ research on the ABCA4 gene, which has over 3,000 genetic variants. The gene is the leading cause of Stargardt disease, an inherited retinal disease affecting one in 8,000 people worldwide, often resulting in blindness.
According to Biswas-Fiss, "The onset of visual impairment in individuals with these variants can occur as early as childhood or adolescence, and some may progress to blindness shortly afterward. In other instances, ABCA4-linked disease may have a gradual onset, with some individuals not experiencing issues until middle age or even later."