PCO has a wide-ranging
research program including investigations in both basic and clinical
sciences. The College conducts fundamental research in such areas as mechanisms of visual signaling and retinal degeneration, and space perception and binocular vision. Most recently, PCO researchers have gained international recognition by discovering how visual sensitivity can be recovered in mice that were blind from a genetically determined retinal degeneration. PCO researchers have published in such prestigious journals as Neuron and Nature. The Eye Institute is a site for numerous clinical trials sponsored by the National eye Institute studying the areas of amblyopia, children's vision, glaucoma, keratoconus, and myopia.
For more information about PCO's research activities:
Contact Dr. Felix Barker,
Associate Dean for Research and Academic Development
Voice (215) 780-1425 or felix@pco.edu
Research News
Algae Shown To Help Blind Mice Recover Visual Response
It was thought that once the photoreceptors in the retina stop functioning, blindness was inevitable. Research at PCO has shown otherwise. Alexander Dizhoor, Ph.D., the Hafter Professor of Pharmacology at the College and his colleague at Wayne State University School of Medicine, Zhuo-Hua Pan, Ph.D., have developed a way for genetically blind mice to recover a visual response. They inserted a green algae protein that responds to light, channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), into the retina cells using a viral gene-transfer technique. When the brains of these mice are monitored, they show a response to light. This research is funded by the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, and was published in the April issue of the prestigious journal, Neuron.
The retina is made of three layers of cells. There are a number of conditions in which the first layer of the retina, where the photoreceptors are located, is destroyed. The other layers of the retina can still process and transmit a signal to the brain. Drs. Dizhoor’s and Pan’s research focuses on giving the remaining layers of the retina the ability to respond to light. The research, while basic, is an important first step. “Treatments are many years away,” said Dr. Dizhoor. “This research lets us know what is possible, when it comes to restoring a visual response.”