National Eye Institute Awards $949,804 for a 5-Year Study of RP

Lea Bennett, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Rose-Silverthorne Retinal Degenerations Laboratory, studies inherited eye diseases under the direction of Dr. David Birch at the Retina Foundation of the Southwest. Dr. Bennett recently received a five-year grant from the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health which she will use to enroll and track degenerative changes in 50 patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) who have known genetic mutations. Her research will improve understanding of the degeneration of peripheral photoreceptors in patients with retinitis pigmentosa. This knowledge is critical for the scientific community and will help researchers with earlier treatment possibilities in retinal disease.

About Retinitis Pigmentosa

Retinitis pigmentosa is characterized by gradual vision loss of peripheral and night vision. RP is a rare inherited eye disease that blinds approximately 100,000 to 200,000 people in the United States. At the present time there is no known cure for RP.