Dr. Emily R. Sechrest from West Virginia University Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Blue Cone Monochromacy Research
Dr. Emily R. Sechrest from West Virginia University Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Blue Cone Monochromacy Research

She plans to target a signaling pathway for the resident immune cell of the retina, in order to delay cone degeneration, with the goal of improving long-term rescue following gene therapy. Together, these studies will allow for development of new strategies to extend the therapeutic window in order to treat patients with BCM at all ages (infant to adult), as well as therapy longevity for treatment of BCM.

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Brandon Mullins
Dr. Muhammad Ali Riaz from Johns Hopkins University Awarded $89,630 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Pediatric Endothelial Keratoplasty Research
Dr. Muhammad Ali Riaz from Johns Hopkins University Awarded $89,630 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Pediatric Endothelial Keratoplasty Research

Dr. Riaz has developed cells that can serve as an alternative to donor tissue in treating adult animals with corneal edema. The strategy includes treating corneal endothelial edema using differentiated cells in juvenile rabbits and monkeys. The knowledge gained from this project will bring us one step closer to preventing childhood blindness.

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Brandon Mullins
Dr. Anh H. Pham from University of Miami School of Medicine Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for CRISPR Based Mitochondrial Optic Neuropathy Treatment Research
Dr. Anh H. Pham from University of Miami School of Medicine Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for CRISPR Based Mitochondrial Optic Neuropathy Treatment Research

Dr. Pham is investigating the efficacy of CRISPR for treating several cellular models of pediatric ophthalmic diseases, including Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy, Lactic Acidosis, and Stroke-like episodes (MELAS), and Leigh syndrome with ophthalmoplegia. Successful demonstration of CRISPR for targeting mitochondrial DNA will open a new therapeutic avenue for these rare and incurable diseases.

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Brandon Mullins
Dr. Sumanth Manohar from University of Kentucky awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for CHARGE Syndrome Research
Dr. Sumanth Manohar from University of Kentucky awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for CHARGE Syndrome Research

Dr. Manohar’s goal is to determine how CHD7 functions to regulate cell type differentiation in the retina, by utilizing single cell transcriptomic and chromatin binding assays in the zebrafish model. Results of these experiments will provide critical information on how CHD7 regulates retinal development, which could lead to development of new therapeutic approaches for the vision impairment associated with CHARGE syndrome.

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Brandon Mullins
Dr. Archana Jalligampala from University of Louisville Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Retinitis Pigmentosa Research
Dr. Archana Jalligampala from University of Louisville Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Retinitis Pigmentosa Research

Dr. Jalligampala hopes to refine the Wave1 dose/response curve; define the temporal window of efficacy using the optimal dose and evaluate its safety in intravitreal injections. To do so, she will quantify and compare across treated and untreated conditions how many rods and how much rod function is retained/recovered. The data will define key features of Wave1 administration, and issues relevant to its clinical use.

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Brandon Mullins
Dr. Ying Hsu from University of Iowa awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Juvenile X-linked Retinoschisis Research
Dr. Ying Hsu from University of Iowa awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Juvenile X-linked Retinoschisis Research

Juvenile X-linked retinoschisis is an eye disease that primarily affects male children and causes them to lose vision. In this disease, the connected layers of cells in the eye responsible for forming vision are separated by abnormal, fluid-filled pockets. This is because the function of the RS1 gene is disrupted. This disease can potentially be treated by gene therapy, which involves the delivery of the RS1 gene into the eye using engineered viruses as carriers. However, sometimes, the injections can cause undesirable side effects due to the immune system. Dr. Hsu is investigating the effect of the immune system after treatment in order to better the design of this therapy.

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Brandon Mullins
Dr. Marta Grannonico from University of Virginia Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Aniridia Research
Dr. Marta Grannonico from University of Virginia Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Aniridia Research

By the end of this project, she will have new in vivo biomarkers for the developmental damage in the retina, which will profoundly impact broader pediatric ophthalmology. This work will represent the first vis-OCT application to pediatric diseases; and the findings of this research can be translated to human studies by using the same technology platform.

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Brandon Mullins
56th Voluntary Campaign
56th Voluntary Campaign

To my fellow Sir Knights of the Grand Encampment, I am deeply honored to be called upon once again this year to serve the Knights Templar Eye Foundation as your Chairman for the 56th Annual Voluntary Campaign. I would like to thank Sir Knight David Kussman, our Grand Master and President of the Foundation for giving me the opportunity to serve this Foundation and Templary. We owe all the Sir Knights of the Grand Encampment a sincere thank you for all the donations we received during our the 55th Annual Voluntary campaign.

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Brandon Mullins