Lab-Grown Retinas to Advance Gene Therapy for Inherited Blindness Win NSW Government Grant
Key Insights
Professor Robyn Jamieson's team received $200,000 from the NSW Government's NAT-Net scheme to advance lab-grown retina research for inherited blindness (search) over two years.
The project uses non-animal technologies to identify which patients with inherited blindness (search) are most likely to respond to gene therapy, enabling access to previously unavailable treatments.
Two additional grants were awarded for programmable microbeads to grow human tissue and a computer model predicting side effects of medicines for spinal muscular atrophy (search) and Huntington's disease (search).
A Sydney-based research team using lab-grown retinal tissue to match patients with inherited blindness (search) to gene therapies has been awarded $200,000 under the New South Wales Government's Non-Animal Technologies Network (NAT-Net) Research Pillar Competitive Grant Scheme. The grant, announced at the inaugural NAT-Net VANGUARD Symposium in Sydney on 29 June, will fund a two-year project at the Children's Medical Research Institute.
Professor Robyn Jamieson leads the research, conducted in collaboration with the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network (search), the University of Sydney, and the Sydney Eye Hospital (search). The work focuses on using lab-grown retinas to determine which patients with inherited blindness (search) are most likely to benefit from gene therapy, addressing a population that currently has no treatment options for sight restoration.
"For our research team, this grant provides a great opportunity to develop and apply the latest cutting edge and non-animal technologies to resolve genetic variants, fast-tracking diagnosis and access to therapies for people with blinding conditions of the eye," Professor Jamieson said. "For the people affected with these conditions, the aim is for this to make a difference to be able to reach a genetic diagnosis for people where this has not previously been possible, and opening pathways to clinical trials and therapies that were not previously available."
Two Additional Projects Funded
The $600,000 total funding was shared among three recipients. Dr Alexander Mason at the University of Wollongong, in partnership with Imperial College London, received $200,000 to develop programmable microbeads that deliver precise chemical signals to grow functional human tissue in the laboratory. This platform aims to provide researchers with a reliable, human-relevant method to test new therapies without animal models.
Associate Professor Antoine de Weck at the Children's Cancer Institute (search), collaborating with Monash University, was also awarded $200,000 to build CrypTox, described as a world-first computer model that predicts the side effects of a new class of medicines targeting conditions including spinal muscular atrophy (search) and Huntington's disease (search).
Building a Non-Animal Research Ecosystem
The grants expand the membership of NAT-Net, which was established in 2024 through a $4.5 million NSW Government investment aimed at reducing and replacing the use of animals in medical research. Each funded project includes an early-career researcher, designed to build the next generation of non-animal technology expertise in the state.
Minister for Medical Research David Harris emphasized the translational focus of the initiative: "We are supporting NSW researchers to develop and use cutting-edge non-animal technologies that deliver more accurate insights into human health, transforming how we understand and treat disease and accelerating the path from discovery to real-world impact."
NSW Health Deputy Secretary, Clinical Innovation and Research, Professor Jean-Frédéric Levesque noted that non-animal technologies "will help NSW develop and use new, effective and sustainable research methods, ensuring we remain at the forefront of scientific progress."
CSIRO Executive Chair of NAT-Net and Research Director for Human Health, Erica Bremner Kneipp, described the grants as "a landmark moment for NAT-Net and for medical research in NSW," adding that "the work funded here will one day lead to better medicines and better outcomes for patients."
NAT-Net Research Pillar Lead and UNSW Associate Professor Shafagh Waters highlighted the strategic value: "Non-animal technologies give us the opportunity to generate more human-relevant evidence earlier in the research pipeline. These grants will support NSW researchers to develop and apply advanced models, systems and computational approaches to better understand disease, test therapies and accelerate translation."
The projects were selected based on the quality of their science, commitment to collaboration, and potential to transform medical research in New South Wales.