Dr. Dhiraj Srivastava from University of Iowa Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Childhood Retina Diseases Research

Dr. Dhiraj Srivastava from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa was awarded a $90,000 grant entitled: Mechanisms of CRX and NRL mutations in childhood retina diseases.

NRL and CRX are two transcription factors required for the proper development of the retina. Mutations in genes encoding for these transcription factors result in diseases like early childhood night blindness and Leber congenital amaurosis 7, an early-onset childhood retinal dystrophy. The two transcription factors cooperate in the regulation of transcription. Dr. Srivastava is studying the molecular mechanism of cooperation between NRL and CRX by structural and biophysical methods. A molecular-level understanding of the function and regulation of NRL and CRX will help to design better therapeutic interventions for these genetic diseases.