WVU School of medicine receives notification of funding for research aimed at developing novel therapies for blinding genetic disease

The West Virginia University School of Medicine received notification of continued funding for a research project that aims to develop novel therapies for the blinding disease known as retinitis pigmentosa.

The grant was originally awarded to the Departments of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine by the National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health in 2025. The grant will provide continued funding of $380,000 through the 2026 fiscal year, which represents year two of the five-year grant, totaling approximately $1.9 million.

The study is led by Assistant Professor Ezequiel Salido, MD, PhD, and is further supported by Assistant Professor Wen Tao Deng, PhD, and Associate Professor Jianhai Du, PhD.

Retinitis pigmentosa is a hereditary blinding eye disease that is caused by mutations in genes that affect the eyes’ ability to sense light. The research supported by this grant aims to develop novel therapies for retinitis pigmentosa by silencing the mutated genes and replacing them with new, healthy genes.

Additionally, the study seeks to further examine the relationship between retinitis pigmentosa and the extracellular matrix of the retina, which plays a significant role in retinal function. It also provides crucial funding that allows Dr. Salido to establish a laboratory that is dedicated to studying extracellular matrices and their role in neuroscience.

To learn more about vision research at the WVU School of Medicine, visit medicine.hsc.wvu.edu/eye/research.