Curing blindness is now within sight

UCI Health – Irvine opened its new 144-bed, all-electric acute care hospital and welcomed its first patients, marking a major expansion of research-driven healthcare in the region. The Digest also highlights a new partnership between UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts and South Coast Repertory to provide MFA theatre students with professional training opportunities, recognizes two UCI faculty members named fellows of the National Academy of Inventors, and includes important campus updates such as a warning about direct-deposit phishing scams and UC-wide academic and community news.

The International Centre for Translational Eye Research (ICTER) recently welcomed Dorota Skowrońska-Krawczyk, PhD (Brunson Center for Translational Vision Research, UC Irvine School of Medicine) for a day of scientific exchange that included a lab tour, meetings with leadership, and a seminar on targeting ELOVL2-mediated fatty acid elongation to address age-related vision decline. She shared emerging research highlighting ELOVL2 as a key enzyme and biomarker of aging in the retina, with reduced activity linked to functional decline. Early findings suggest that restoring retinal lipid balance may improve visual function and help counter age-related changes, supported by new human genetic data connecting ELOVL2 variants to intermediate age-related macular degeneration.

UCI researchers have identified a promising therapy that could reverse age-related vision loss. Their study, published in Science Translational Medicine, shows that supplementing retinal fatty acids can restore vision in mice and may help prevent diseases like macular degeneration. The findings also suggest potential benefits for immune health and cancer treatment.