CLEVELAND, Dec. 2, 2024 – Eversight, a global eye bank and full-service eye and vision research partner, today announced it is part of a major undertaking that will bring together more than 40 scientists, doctors and industry experts hand-picked from around the country to make vision-restoring whole eye transplants a reality. Eversight will contribute its expertise in eye banking and vision research to the six-year, multimillion-dollar project.
“It is an extraordinary opportunity to be part of this multidisciplinary endeavor to make whole eye transplants a reality,” said Onkar B. Sawant, PhD, Vice President of Research & Development, Eversight. “Our research and development work at Eversight has always been about pushing the boundaries of vision science, and this collaboration will allow us to contribute our unique expertise to tackle one of the most challenging frontiers in sight restoration.”
Insights gained from this ambitious project have the potential to meaningfully expand current knowledge of ophthalmic and neurological connections, that may ultimately result in the ability to restore sight to those with previously incurable blinding eye conditions.
Visionary innovators
Jeffrey Goldberg, MD, PhD, Blumenkranz Smead professor and chair of ophthalmology at the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University, will serve as principal investigator for the project. José-Alain Sahel, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh, will co-direct the initiative with Goldberg.
“This group of people have been working for decades now on figuring out how to promote optic nerve regeneration and retinal neuron survival in glaucoma and other blinding diseases,” Goldberg said. “That positions this group of collaborators to be the best situated to take on optic nerve regeneration and neuronal cell survival in the context of eye transplant.”
The total project award of up to $56 million is from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Transplantation of Human Eye Allografts (THEA) program. The awarded project title is Viability, Imaging, Surgical, Immunomodulation, Ocular preservation and Neuroregeneration (VISION) Strategies for Whole Eye Transplant—a reflection of the breadth of the collaboration assembled to solve such a complex challenge.
The biggest challenge the team will face is moving whole eye transplants from aesthetic to functional by figuring out how to regenerate the optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain.
The 'whole' plan
The VISION for Whole Eye Transplant project is holistic in every sense of the word.
The team is made up of a potent mix of expertise and skill, which will be needed as they simultaneously advance and create cutting-edge medical devices, artificial intelligence integrations, new surgical techniques, regenerative medicine breakthroughs and rejection mitigation. The group will work dynamically, sharing information in real-time and pursuing the most promising leads.
Meticulous donor eye selection, advanced ocular imaging and specialized logistics in organ procurement and preservation will also be critical for success, and collaborators on this team are already the established leaders in these key areas of transplant science. In the end, tailored post-care rehabilitation for eye recipients will also be needed to set patients on the right track.
Amid the technical details, accessibility plays a major role in the plan.
While whole eye transplants are the north star of the three-phase, six-year project, the effort will undoubtedly bring with it more breakthroughs along the way, and that is just as exciting, Goldberg said.
“As we develop a series of new technologies that could be vision restorative in THEA and also in the many patients with glaucoma and other eye diseases, we’ll leverage all the proper channels to ensure new drugs, gene therapies, and devices can be accessible to all,” he said.
Driven by curiosity
Eversight is a trusted steward of precious donor eye tissue, turning their gifts into knowledge that may transform lives one day through breakthrough discoveries like whole eye transplantation. Fueled by compassion, the Eversight team has a deep, unwavering commitment to preventing, treating and curing blinding eye conditions through robust scientific inquiry that unravels mysteries of the eye.
“We are not afraid to try new things and push the boundaries of science while honoring the gift every step of the way,” Dr. Sawant said. “By contributing our knowledge in eye banking and partnering with innovative leaders in ophthalmic research, imaging and surgical techniques, we hope to create life-changing outcomes for people suffering from vision loss, achieving what many have thought to be impossible.”
About Eversight
Eversight is a nonprofit organization with a mission to restore sight and prevent blindness through the healing power of donation, transplantation and research. The Eversight network is responsible for recovering, evaluating and providing human eye tissue for transplantation; supporting research into the causes and cures of blinding eye conditions; promoting donation awareness through public and professional education; and providing humanitarian aid to people around the world in need of corneal transplantation. Operating in Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and South Korea, Eversight works in collaboration with surgeons, researchers, academic medical centers and eye banks across the United States and abroad. For more information, visit eversightvision.org.
This research was, in part, funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the United States Government.
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