Dr. Tianxi Wang from Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School Awarded $70,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for ROP Research

Dr. Tianxi Wang from the Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School was awarded a grant for $70,000 for the research entitled: Inflammatory Signals from Photoreceptors Regulate Retinopathy of Prematurity via SOCS3

Abnormal retinal blood vessel growth (neovascularization) in preterm infants, called retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), is a common cause of blindness in children. The disease affects the vision of ROP patients throughout their lifetimes. Current surgical correction is invasive and only partially prevents their vision loss. Identifying less-invasive therapies depends on gaining better understandings of how neuroinflammation and altered photoreceptor function are involved in the creation of ROP. Retinal neovascularization in such eye diseases is linked to irregular inflammation and photoreceptor function but not well understood. To develop preventative treatment, Dr. Wang will focus on so-called regulators that totally integrate altered photoreceptor function and neuroinflammation in the eye to control neovascularization. Dr. Wang proposes a unique strategy to prevent ROP through a critical regulator of tissue infl ammation—a very likely candidate in controlling ocular abnormal vessel growth. Based on preliminary data, Dr. Wang proposes that SOCS3 in photoreceptors controls development of neovascularization; targeting SOCS3 may treat or prevent neovascularization. Dr. Wang will test this theory using a genetic approach with two aims: (I) to determine whether photoreceptor SOCS3 controls the development of abnormal retinal neovascularization in a ROP mouse model; and (II) to determine whether photoreceptor SOCS3 controls neovascularization by moderating inflammatory signals. This work will determine whether SOCS3, which links altered inflammatory responses in stressed photoreceptor cells with neovascularization, is important for neovascular ROP. The proposed research can help understand ROP disease and lead to new disease treatments.