Dr. Rebecca L. Pfeiffer from University of Utah Awarded $90,000 Knights Templar Eye Foundation Grant for Retinitis Pigmentosa Research

Dr. Rebecca L. Pfeiffer from the University of Utah, John A. Moran Eye Center, Salt Lake City, Utah was awarded a $90,000 grant to study: Spatial transcriptomic profiling of outer limiting membrane and Muller cells in pediatric retinitis pigmentosa.

Many well-known eye diseases affect the elderly, however, some cause blindness beginning in childhood. Retinitis pigmentosa is one such blinding disease and in many cases, is diagnosed in children leading to severe vision loss before adulthood. Retinitis pigmentosa causes degeneration of the light-sensing neurons found in the back of the eye, the photoreceptors. Photoreceptors are broken down into two major groups: rods and cones. Rods are responsible for very low light vision, while cones are used for brighter environments and are widely used in our daily vision including reading, high acuity vision, and color. In many cases of retinitis pigmentosa, rods have the specific genetic mutation causing their degeneration, but in all cases, cones will go on to degenerate after the rods. The loss of cones is especially detrimental to a patient’s quality of life, because of the broad usage of cones in day-to-day life. Dr. Pfeiffer will use an exciting new technology called spatial transcriptomics to explore the genetic changes accompanying the regional breakdown of the barrier between the inner and outer retina.

Dr. Pfeiffer will help enable a better understanding of the causes of the loss of cones in retinitis pigmentosa to guide future therapies to treat retinitis pigmentosa and preserve children’s vision.