Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus are set to receive up to $46 million in federal funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) over the next five years. This funding supports a "moonshot" project aimed at achieving the first-ever vision-restoring full eye transplant in humans.
Ambitious Goal: Restoring Vision Through Eye Transplantation
The University of Colorado-led team is one of four in the United States to receive funding from ARPA-H. The project will focus on using novel stem cell and bioelectronic technologies to overcome the significant challenges associated with whole eye transplantation, particularly optic nerve regeneration and reconnection.
Dr. Kia Washington, the lead researcher for the University of Colorado team, expressed optimism about the project's potential. "This is no easy undertaking, but I believe we can achieve this together," she said. "And in fact I’ve never been more hopeful that a cure for blindness is within reach."
Collaborative Effort Across Institutions
The initiative will be interdisciplinary, linking researchers at institutions across the country, including the University of Southern California, the University of Wisconsin, Indiana University, Johns Hopkins University, and the National Eye Institute. These teams will work on distinct approaches, with the possibility of collaboration and eventual merging depending on research progress.
Dr. Calvin Roberts, overseeing the broader project for ARPA-H, emphasized the agency's strategy of taking multiple "shots on goal" to ensure progress. Dr. Daniel Pelaez of the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, another funding recipient, noted the monumental nature of the task, comparing it to transplanting other parts of the central nervous system like the inner ear, brain, and spinal cord.
Technical Hurdles and Potential Breakthroughs
To succeed, researchers must overcome significant hurdles, including the successful removal and preservation of donor eyes, as well as the connection and repair of the optic nerve. A team at New York University performed a full eye transplant in November 2023 as part of a partial face transplant, but vision was not restored.
Washington and her colleagues have already completed the eye transplant procedure in rats, albeit without vision restoration. The next step involves working on large animals to advance optic nerve regenerative strategies and study immunosuppression to prevent organ rejection. The ultimate goal is to advance to human trials.
Pelaez's team is focusing on a life-support machine for the eye to maintain its health and viability during the removal process. InGel Therapeutics, another funded team, will research 3-D printed technology and micro-tunneled scaffolds to carry stem cells for optic nerve regeneration and repair.
Foundation Fighting Blindness' Role
The Foundation Fighting Blindness is playing a critical role in this project. They have assembled a multi-disciplinary team of scientists, researchers, and physicians. Their senior director of the Preclinical Translational Research Program, Chad Jackson, Ph.D., is overseeing the six-year project.
"While vision-restoring whole eye transplantation holds tremendous potential, there are significant technical and biological challenges that must be overcome before it can become a viable clinical reality, most notably the vexing challenge of regenerating nerve cells and re-establishing vision signal connectivity in a grafted optic nerve," said Dr. Jackson.
THEA Program Goals
The primary goal of ARPA-H’s THEA (Total Human Eye-allotransplantation Advancement) program is to build on advancements in medicines, cell therapies, and surgical techniques to regenerate retinal and optic nerve cells and restore their connectivity to the brain. Additional goals include improving tissue harvest and preservation, optimizing optic nerve reattachment and repair technologies, and advancing surgical strategies and post-op care.
