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A machine with a digital display with a hand in a green glove pressing the screen with their index finger

Research grants

Retina UK aims not only to progress research along established threads, but to stimulate new thinking, encourage innovative approaches and nurture original ideas.

An illustration of a DNA string

Why genes matter

Genes exist inside all the cells that make up your body. They contain genetic code (DNA) and provide instructions for constructing proteins, which are the building blocks of our bodies and perform a huge variety of roles.

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Inheritance patterns

Your doctor or genetic counsellor will spend some time asking about other people in your family to try to work out the way in which your particular faulty gene has been passed down through the generations – this is referred to as the inheritance pattern.

Your donations make progress possible

Your generous support allows Retina UK to fund the work of leading scientists who are increasing understanding of inherited sight loss and moving us closer to treatments.

Light sensing small molecule given green light

Biotechnology company Kiora Pharmaceuticals has been given the go-ahead to start in-human testing of a novel “small molecule” treatment, known as KIO-301, for advanced vision loss in retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The phase 1b clinical trial will take place in Adelaide, Australia, and will begin enrolling participants towards the end of 2022.

The cover of Look Forward Summer 2024 (issue 183) featuring a group of eight people looking down at the camera with blue sky above them

Look Forward – Summer 2024 – Issue 183

This edition includes exciting news about our Annual and Professionals’ Conferences. We hope as many of you as possible can join us in Manchester, or online, in September. You’ll also find updates about the latest research and a feature on one of our funded researchers, Dr Jörn Lakowski.

A high power image showing the position of a single transplanted photoreceptor cell (green) making new connections with bipolar cells in the recipient retina (cyan).

Stem cells

Stem cells are a special type of cell, which under the right conditions can be encouraged to grow into any other type of cell in the body, including retinal cells (rods, cones and retinal pigment epithelial cells).

A DNA spiral with a piece removed being held by tweezers

Genetics and gene therapy

When we talk about gene therapy we are usually referring to use of a harmless virus, called a vector, to deliver a normal copy of a defective gene into the cells of the eye.