Curing blindness is now within sight Advancing basic and translational research and creating pharmacological treatments to cure blindness. Welcome Message Our Center for Translational Vision Research at the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute serves as an international leader in advancing research and bolstering the support of investigators pursuing basic and translational sciences relevant to vision. We are bringing together exceptional scientific expertise from within the University, the School of Medicine and other schools, and complementary research programs to advance collaborations that focus on fundamental discoveries in vision research with translational potential. We aim to integrate basic and clinical research, including genetics and pharmacology, in order to develop innovative and accessible therapies for millions robbed of their sight or progressing toward blindness. Researchers Sponsors Postdocs Students Community UC Irvine researchers discover a nanobody which may lead to treatment for Retinitis Pigmentosa CTVR researchers have discovered a special antibody which may lead to a treatment for Retinitis Pigmentosa, a condition that causes loss of central vision, as well as night and color vision. The study, Structural basis for the allosteric modulation of rhodopsin by nanobody binding to its extracellular domain, was published in Nature Communications. Authors of the study were Arum Wu, PhD, David Salom, PhD, John D. Hong, Aleksander Tworak, PhD, Philip D. Kiser, PharmD, PhD, and Krzysztof Palczewski, PhD, in the Department of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, at the University of California, Irvine. Research was conducted in collaboration with Jay Steyaert, PhD, at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). Continue Reading Distinguished Speaker Series Every Friday, 8:30 am-10:00 am PST, during Academic year, CTVR hosts worldwide research seminars on the groundbreaking research topics ranging from ophthalmology, genetics, biochemistry, neurobiology, imaging, computational sciences to novel ophthalmic treatments. This seminar series showcases the Vision Science Program and engages our colleagues from UCI, the region, the nation and beyond. Please join us! Learn more About Friday Seminars BME 295/195: Modern Topics in Gene Editing and Gene Therapy BME 295/195: Modern Topics in Gene Editing and Gene Therapy –The Department of Biomedical Engineering in collaboration with the CTVR, is excited to offer a exciting course this fall, 2023. This 10-week, 4-unit course is geared towards PhD students and advanced Undergraduates and it will give students 3 hours of contact with the instructor during class each week. Students will also have 1 hour of group discussion without the instructor in preparation for class. In addition to these commitments, students will be responsible for preparing for class by doing the reading and assignments before each class. The class will cover topics such as history of programmable nucleases, with an emphasis on CRISPR, editing and manipulating genomes using programmable nucleases and CRISPR technologies, and gene therapy applications, focusing on precision gene editing to correct disease mutations. You can register Summer 2023 for the Fall 2023 semester. Weekly course outline; Week 1: Restriction enzymes and the challenges of manipulating DNA in vivo Week 2: Programmable restriction enzymes: Zinc fingers Week 3: Programmable restriction enzymes: TALENs Week 4: CRISPR: discovery and mechanisms Week 5: CRISPR-based manipulation of mammalian genomes Week 6: Base editing Week 7: Prime editing Week 8: Case studies in gene therapy Week 9: Case studies in gene therapy Week 10: Ethical frameworks for gene editing and gene therapy Learn more About BME Courses News Sep 25, 2023 | Drug Discovery News A vision of the future: Stem cells offer hope for retinal degeneration Please read the article based on Dr. Seiler's interview on her groundbreaking research that cell therapies derived from stem cells could one day prevent vision loss or even restore sight in retinal degenerative disease. Aug 29, 2023 | UCI School of Medicine UC Irvine researchers discover a nanobody which may lead to treatment for Retinitis Pigmentosa A special antibody derived from llamas — called a nanobody — can stop the misfolding and the activation of Rhodopsin, a molecule whose mutations can lead to blindness. Jul 05, 2023 | Center for Translational Vision Research Distinguished Senior Faculty Award for Research The Academic Senate has selected Dr. Palczewski to receive the 2023-2024 Distinguished Senior Faculty Award for Research. Dr. Palczewski's compelling and groundbreaking work in advancing our understanding of the retina, especially with respect to phototransduction in the retina, has brought great credit to the university. Congratulations! View All News Unique Two-photon Ophthalmoscope (2PO) The CTVR boasts having the two-photon ophthalmoscope (2PO) instrument for humans, a next-generation technology that could accomplish in-depth, real-time views of disease progression. It is the only one in the country and only one of the two in the world. This live imaging with 2PO excitation can help provide patients more individualized treatment by using a nondestructive, deeply penetrating long-wavelength infrared laser beam. The application of 2PO simultaneously exceeds and complements the capabilities of optical coherence tomography and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy, two of the techniques currently used clinically to image retinal diseases. Read Full Article Highlighted Publications Below is a selection of our most recent publications. Rapid RGR-dependent visual pigment recycling is mediated by the RPE and specialized Müller glia Tworak A., A. V. Kolesnikov, J.D. Hong, E. H. Choi, J. C. Luu, G. Palczewska, Z. Dong, D. Lewandowski, M. J. Brooks, L. Campello, A. Swaroop, P. D. Kiser, V. J. Kefalov, K. Palczewski. Cell Reports 2023 (in press) Investigating the role of rhodopsin F45L mutation in mouse rod photoreceptor signaling and survival. D. Poria, A. V. Kolesnikov, T. J. Lee, D. Salom, K. Palczewski, V. J. Kefalov. eNeuro. 2023 Stress induced aging in mouse eye. Xu Q, Rydz C, Nguyen Huu VA, Rocha L, Palomino La Torre C, Lee I, Cho W, Jabari M, Donello J, Lyon DC, Brooke R, Horvath S, Weinreb RN, Ju WK, Foik A, Skowronska-Krawczyk D*; (2022). Aging Cell , PMID: 36397653 DOI: 10.1111/acel.13737 Genome-Editing in Treatment of Ocular Diseases. Choi E. H., S. Suh, A. E. Sears, R. Holubowicz, A. W. Browne, K. Palczewski. Exp Mol Med. 2023 Aug 1. doi: 10.1038/s12276-023-01057-2 Rhodopsin dimers in the Retinal Rod Outer Segment. In “Cryo-electron microscopy in structural biology” Gulati, S., K. Palczewski.Taylor & Francis Group., CRC Press, Inc. Boca Raton, Florida, USA (in press) A short story on how chromophore is hydrolyzed from rhodopsin for recycling. Hong, J. D. and K. Palczewski. Bioessays. 2023 Jul 16:e2300068. Saving eyesight, one gene at a time. Hołubowicz R, Palczewski K. Trends Mol Med. 2023 May 9:S1471-4914(23)00090-4. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2023.04.008 CTVR Publication Library We strive to make our research available to benefit and transform society and improve people's lives. Full List of Publications Events Oct 20, 2023 Distinguished Speaker Series | Bryan W. Jones, PhD Oct 13, 2023 Distinguished Speaker Series | Jean-Marc Matter, PhD Oct 6, 2023 Distinguished Speaker Series | Gyorgy Bence MD, PhD Sep 29, 2023 Distinguished Speaker Series | Zygmunt Pizlo, Ph.D. View All Events View All Events