NEWS
West Virginia University School of Medicine
Making untreatable vision problems treatable : WVU receives $ 11 million for visual sciences research center
The average adult will spend more than 30 years staring at screens in their lifetime . But even though people ’ s eyes are crucial for scrolling on their phones or looking at their computers — not to mention doing countless other daily activities — people usually only think about their eyes when they cause problems : when pollen irritates them , when central heating dries them out , when street signs don ’ t look clear to them , or when all that screen time makes them tired .
West Virginia University ’ s ( WVU ) visual sciences researchers are different . They regularly investigate how the eye works , why it sometimes doesn ’ t work , and how to keep it working as well as possible for as long as possible . And with a new $ 11 million grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences ( NIGSM ), they are establishing a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence ( COBRE ) for visual sciences , which will advance their research even further .
WVU is only the second university in the nation to receive funding for a visual sciences COBRE .
“ My goal is to use this funding mechanism to propel WVU and vision sciences in reducing visual disparities in our state ,” said Visvanathan Ramamurthy , the COBRE ’ s principal investigator . “ West Virginia has the second highest rate of visual disability in the whole country . By visual disability , I mean something you cannot treat with corrective glasses .”
The COBRE will help WVU recruit researchers and clinicianscientists who can work together to develop innovative ways to prevent , treat , and slow the progression of vision problems and blinding eye disease that are currently incurable .
Image : Zane Lacko . Michael Robichaux — an assistant professor in WVU ’ s Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences — conducts research in the visual-sciences COBRE lab . A recent $ 11M COBRE grant from NIH will enable WVU to recruit researchers and clinicians who want to prevent , treat and slow the progression of vision problems . Robichaux is one of the COBRE ’ s three project leaders .
34 • www . wvsma . org