FFB Funded Discovery Paves Way to Optic Nerve Regeneration
January 25, 2010
An important research paper by an FFB-funded research trainee, Karen Atkinson-Leadbeater, has been published in the Journal of Neuroscience, a prestigious journal for retina and vision scientists. The paper includes findings made possible by her FFB Studentship award, granted in 2005, titled, Growth Factor Signaling and Visual System Development.
The study authors, working with Prof. Sarah McFarlane at the University of Calgary, found that chemical regulators called fibroblast growth factors trigger cues that are critical for normal development of this visual pathway, between the eye and the brain. It’s critical to understand how these cues are triggered in order for researchers to regenerate optic nerves in adult human patients, and re-establish the transmission of visual images from the eye to the brain. Regenerating the optic nerve and restoring its eye-brain connection are necessary to restore vision, after injury or degeneration.
Ms. Atkinson-Leadbeater continues to hold a Studentship award from the FFB, and will soon defend her PhD Thesis.
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