University—

University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine researchers studying age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have received a four-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, to better understand cell injury and death that can lead to AMD and to develop preventative treatments.

Robert Mullins, UI professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences who holds the Hansjoerg EJW Kolder Professorship in Best Disease Research, and Budd Tucker, UI assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences, both researchers with the Stephen A. Wynn Institute for Vision Research, are the principal investigators of the study.

AMD is a major cause of blindness characterized by deterioration of the part of the eye that is responsible for visual acuity, including reading, driving, and recognizing faces. Mullins and Tucker recently found that the loss of choriocapillaris blood vessels is linked to the earliest stages of AMD. This study also found that the loss of the vessels is likely caused by the complement membrane attack complex (MAC).

With the new study, the researchers hope to determine responses of cells injured by the MAC as well as to identify molecules that protect the capillaries from such attacks. They also hope to develop and test new methods for the eventual replacement of these lost or injured cells using adult stem cells.

Faculty—

John Wadsworth, associate professor in Rehabilitation and Counselor Education in the College of Education, was awarded a five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

The award will be used to support qualified full-time scholars to enter and complete the Master’s in Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling in six semesters of full-time study. It provides full tuition assistance and $5,000 a semester stipend for four of the six semesters of study required to complete the degree.