Dr. Robichaux from Baylor College of Medicine awarded $70,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant

Dr. Robichaux from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX was awarded a grant for $70,000 for his research entitled: Subcellular analysis of photoreceptor cell health in mouse models for retinitis pigmentosa and retinal gene therapy

In the neural retina, the nervous system sensory organ in mammalian eyes, photoreceptor cells (rods and cones) transform light into a visual brain stimulus. This visual signal is initiated in photoreceptors by a group of light-absorbing opsin proteins, including rhodopsin (Rho) in rod photoreceptors. Rho is particularly important in the study of childhood blinding diseases, as Rho hereditary genetic mutations are the most common cause of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a form of retinal disease that leads to early-age blindness. Specifically, disease mutations of Rho cause photoreceptor cells to die at an early age, leading to irreparable nervous system damage. Understanding this disease to one day treat it with exciting prospective therapies (such as gene therapy) requires a comprehensive understanding of Rho and its role in rod photoreceptors.

Examining the cell biology of rod photoreceptors requires state-of-the-art microscope technology that I have developed to use in these studies. To compliment these microscopy techniques, Dr. Robichaux will generate powerful mouse genetic models for RP Rho mutations, in which diseased photoreceptors can be examined. He proposes an approach that integrates these techniques to test the cellular status of Rho and other photoreceptor proteins in single mouse rod photoreceptors that are either healthy or carry a RP mutation. His research and study will include another mouse model for RP, in which he will be able to model a prospective gene therapy strategy and perform a rigorous feasibility analysis with my cutting-edge microscopy techniques to see if this strategy could rescue and save the diseased retina.