Student's Vision Nets Grant to Help Study Eye Disease
John Michael Hampton
Issue date: 11/3/05 Section: News
Robyn Sweitzer, a graduate student at UAH, recently received a $400,000 grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH). Sweitzer, who is working on her doctorate in materials science, will be studying, "the development of retinal prostheses for patients who have lost their vision due to macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa," according to Dr. Carmen Scholz, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry. Scholz is collaborating with Sweitzer on this study.
The study is part of the Boston Retinal Implant Project in which several schools and various educational disciplines are participating. UAH is the materials group in the project. Other groups include electrical engineers, surgeons, biologists, and neurophysiologists. Most assembly and synthesis of the supplies will take place here at UAH, although some experiments will be performed at UAB. Other schools participating in this venture include Harvard University and MIT.
Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) affects roughly 25 to 30 million people worldwide with 10 million here in the U.S., according to Dr. Scholz. "[AMD] is the leading cause of blindness in the developed world."
Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of disorders. These disorders are hereditary and develop in people between 10 and 30 years of age. The disease affects "the retina's ability to respond to light" and "causes advancing degradation of photoreceptors."
Scholz continued to state that, "There is no known cure for either disease. Current treatments, such as administering vitamin A, can only slow progression of the disease."
This study, though not a cure, will benefit patients. She explains that, "Our goal is to provide blind patients with some degree of vision, [where they will] be able to navigate in an unfamiliar environment...but also recognize faces...also, they will be provided with an artificial vision, which most likely, will not be comparable to our way of seeing."
As mentioned by the UAH press release, Sweitzer sees the benefits of this study just by looking at her family. "My mother had so little vision left that she was really getting discouraged, and my sister had just lost her driver's license." Through her efforts to bring the research to UAH, her mom was the first person in the experiment and provided the data necessary for researchers to know how much of an electrical current is needed to stimulate the nerves in a person's eyes. Scholz adds, "It was Robyn's inquisitiveness and the right questions that she asked during those experiments that prompted this very successful collaboration."
Sweitzer's dedication, along with that of her colleagues in this study, may bring about a brighter day for those suffering from vision disorders. And for that, even her family will be thankful for the research being done through the Boston Retinal Implant Project.
The study is part of the Boston Retinal Implant Project in which several schools and various educational disciplines are participating. UAH is the materials group in the project. Other groups include electrical engineers, surgeons, biologists, and neurophysiologists. Most assembly and synthesis of the supplies will take place here at UAH, although some experiments will be performed at UAB. Other schools participating in this venture include Harvard University and MIT.
Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) affects roughly 25 to 30 million people worldwide with 10 million here in the U.S., according to Dr. Scholz. "[AMD] is the leading cause of blindness in the developed world."
Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of disorders. These disorders are hereditary and develop in people between 10 and 30 years of age. The disease affects "the retina's ability to respond to light" and "causes advancing degradation of photoreceptors."
Scholz continued to state that, "There is no known cure for either disease. Current treatments, such as administering vitamin A, can only slow progression of the disease."
This study, though not a cure, will benefit patients. She explains that, "Our goal is to provide blind patients with some degree of vision, [where they will] be able to navigate in an unfamiliar environment...but also recognize faces...also, they will be provided with an artificial vision, which most likely, will not be comparable to our way of seeing."
As mentioned by the UAH press release, Sweitzer sees the benefits of this study just by looking at her family. "My mother had so little vision left that she was really getting discouraged, and my sister had just lost her driver's license." Through her efforts to bring the research to UAH, her mom was the first person in the experiment and provided the data necessary for researchers to know how much of an electrical current is needed to stimulate the nerves in a person's eyes. Scholz adds, "It was Robyn's inquisitiveness and the right questions that she asked during those experiments that prompted this very successful collaboration."
Sweitzer's dedication, along with that of her colleagues in this study, may bring about a brighter day for those suffering from vision disorders. And for that, even her family will be thankful for the research being done through the Boston Retinal Implant Project.