FFB Funded Research Grants Approved 2006 - 2007
Operating Grants
Torben Bech-Hansen
University of Calgary
Genetic and Molecular Studies of CSNB2 in Man and Mouse
Granted: $90,000 for 1 year, July 2006 - June 2007
Orson Moritz
University of British Columbia
Mechanisms of Secondary Cone Degeneration in RP
Granted: $70,000 for 3 years, July 2006 - June 2009
Dr. Moritz and his team have developed a frog model of inherited retinal degeneration, in which rod cell death can be initiated at any time. This animal acts as an excellent model of how cell death occurs in RP, a disease in which rod function (responsible for peripheral and night vision) is lost over time. This system will be used to examine the effects of rod cell death on the remaining cells of the retina, which will help us to better understand the progression of retinitis pigmentosa, and bring researchers closer to identifying therapies to benefit RP patients.
Young Investigator Awards
Michel Cayouette - FFB/RBC Young Investigator in Macular Degeneration
Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal
Specification of temporal identity in retinal progenitor cells
Granted: $80,000 for 3 years, July 2006 - June 2009
FFB/RBC Young Investigator in Macular Degeneration has been awarded to a new investigator. It provides a five-year operating grant to support novel research broadly related to either age-related or juvenile-onset forms of macular degeneration.
W.K. Stell Award
Michel Cayouette
Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal
Mechanisms of cell diversification in the retina
Granted: $50,000 for 5 years, July 2006 - June 2011
Postdoctoral Fellowships
Sonya Craig-Ensseln - FFB/BMO Postdoctoral Fellowship Award
Supervisor: Peter F. Hitchcock, Ph.D.
University of Michigan
Identification and function of molecular cues for photoreceptor regeneration in the vertebrate retina
Granted: $35,000 for 2 years, July 2006 - April 2008
Junchul Kim
Supervisor: Susan Dymecki, Ph.D.
Harvard University
Modeling retinal by neuronal silencing in the living mouse
Granted: $35,000 for 3 years, July 2006 - June 2009
Paul Park
Supervisor: Krzysztof Palczewski, Ph.D.
Case Western Reserve university
Towards a structural understanding of phototransduction
Granted: $35,000 for 2 years, July 2006 – June 2007
Carl Philip Wonders - FFB/Stem Cell Network
University of Toronto
Characterization of retinal stem cell regulation
Granted: $20,000 for 2 years, July 2006 – June 2007
Graduate Student Scholarships
Haider Altimimi
Supervisor: Paul Schnetkamp, Ph.D.
University of Calgary
Functional and structural studies of the SLC24 Na/Ca-K exchangers, and involvement in retinal disease
Granted: $21,000 for 2 years, July 2006 – June 2007
Juana Maria Gonzalez-Santos
Supervisor: Jim Hu, Ph.D.
Hospital for Sick Children
Mechanism of Hprp3p mutations leading to retinitis pigmentosa
Granted: $21,000 for 2 years, July 2006 – June 2008
Lisa Hamm
Supervisor: Orson Moritz, Ph.D.
University of British Columbia
Analysis of secondary retinal degenerative mechanisms using controled ablation of photoreceptors in transgenic X. laevis
Granted: $21,000 for 3 years, July 2006 – June 2007