MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia University is receiving $11 million in federal dollars for research on treating and slowing the progression of incurable eye diseases.
West Virginia has the second-highest rate of visual disability in the U.S., according to a university news release. A visual disability is a disability that cannot be treated with corrective glasses.
“The idea is to think collaboratively,” West Virginia University biochemistry Chair Visvanathan Ramamurthy said. “How can we make change? How can we translate our basic science findings to clinical practice that helps people?”
University project leaders will receive three years of mentorship from senior scientists and experts around the country. Eight undergraduate students will participate in a vision science research program each summer.
West Virginia University is the second in the U.S. to receive a grant from the National Institutes of Health to fund a visual-sciences Center of Biomedical Research Excellence. The $11 million was awarded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, a program of the National Institutes of Health.