Stem cells against blindness: ERC Proof of Concept -- MEDICA - World Forum for Medicine
Menu

Stem cells against blindness: ERC Proof of Concept

11.01.2021

Prof. Volker Busskamp from the University of Bonn has received a "Proof of Concept Grant" worth 150,000 euros from the European Research Council (ERC). He and his team are working at the Eye Clinic of the University Hospital Bonn on a technology to rapidly program human stem cells to photoreceptor for retinal research and treating blindness in the future.

Volker Busskamp's research focuses on photoreceptors. These are sensory cells of the retina that convert light into electrochemical signals. These stimuli are processed further and enable seeing. Photoreceptors have special antennae, so-called outer segments, which are very fragile and are the first to degenerate in many eye diseases causing blindness. Busskamp and his team are aiming to protect and restore the structure and function of such photoreceptor cells.

Image: Smiling man with a dark suit in front of a window; Copyright: Sven Döring

Prof. Volker Busskamp from the Eye Clinic at the University Hospital Bonn

Products and exhibitors around laboratory medicine and cells

Image: Image of coloured cells on a screen; Copyright: Messe Düsseldorf

Exhibitors and products related to this topic can be found in the database of MEDICA 2020:

Based on his ERC Starting Grant, which was launched at the Dresden University of Technology in 2016 and funded with 1.5 million euros, Busskamp and his team have succeeded in developing a technology to precisely differentiate human stem cells into photoreceptor cells. Having an unlimited photoreceptor cell source is essential for drug screening, further basic and biomedical research such as photoreceptor replacement therapies.

With the help of Proof of Concept funding, he and his team aim at bringing their discovery closer to the market. This includes further technology developing, defining end products and approaching industry partners. "Our long-term goal is to use our research to develop new drugs that can effectively treat late stages of retinal degeneration and blindness," Busskamp emphasizes.

MEDICA-tradefair.com; Source: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn

More about the University of Bonn at: www.uni-bonn.de

More topic-related exciting news from the editors of MEDICA-tradefair.com

More about…

More news at MEDICA-tradefair.com