A Trinity research project has received €3.2 million in funding for a project targeted at treating degenerative retinal diseases that result in vision loss.
The project, EYE-D, is led by Professors Matthew Campbell and Sarah Doyle and seeks to find new therapeutic treatments for Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), glaucoma and other inherited diseases that cause vision loss.
These diseases affect an estimated 224,000 people in Ireland and 40 million people worldwide.
In a press statement announcing the funding, Professor Campbell said: “We are excited about the potential developments that will emerge from this grant. Spearheading a project with a cumulative budget of €3.2 million will allow us to make a major impact on the international stage of vision research.”
“In addition, our research endeavours put us in a perfect position to identify the cause of some of the most common forms of blindness”, he said.
Professor Doyle added, saying that “this funding will allow us to build on the major successes our group has had in understanding degenerative eye diseases. Added to this, we can now recruit the most talented group of scientists internationally and place Ireland at the forefront of vision research”.
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) provided €1.6 million in funding for the project and an additional €1.6 million in funding was matched by the project’s partners.
The project’s partners include pharmaceutical company Roche, the Eli Lilly subsidiary Disarm, the private ophthalmology clinic Progressive Vision Research and the charity Fighting Blindness Ireland.
The funding was announced today by Minister for Higher Education and Research Simon Harris.
In a press statement, Harris said: “I am delighted to announce today this funding to the EYE-D research project. This research has the potential to have an invaluable impact in identifying treatments that help tackle degenerative eye diseases.”
“This project will aim to put Ireland at the forefront of international research into degenerative eye disease”, he added.
SFI Director General Professor Philip Nolan also welcomed the announcement: “We are looking forward to working with the researchers and collaborators of EYE-D research project as they work to find solutions to vision loss caused by retinal diseases.”
“The project highlights the impact that the Strategic Partnership Programme can deliver. I welcome the broad partnership involved in supporting this research which includes industry, charities and higher education institutes”, he said.
