Protecting vision after eye or brain injuries and in a hereditary retinal condition
Official title: BLRD Research Career Scientist Award Application
Funded at VA Western New York Healthcare System · NIH-11212745 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Working to find drug treatments that protect or slow vision loss after traumatic eye or brain injuries and in a genetic form of retinitis pigmentosa (RP59).
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | VA Western New York Healthcare System NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Buffalo, United States) |
| Project start | October 1, 2021 |
| Project end | September 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5IK6BX005787-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11212745 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would include veterans or others with recent traumatic eye or TBI-related visual problems and people diagnosed with the hereditary retinal condition RP59 who want to consider future treatment trials.
✕Less likely to help
People whose vision loss stems from unrelated eye diseases or long-standing, irreversible blindness are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
My lab studies how cholesterol-related molecules keep the retina healthy and how those processes go wrong after trauma or in a hereditary retinal disease called RP59. We use laboratory and preclinical models that mimic eye and blast-related brain injuries and genetic forms of retinal degeneration to trace the molecular and cellular changes that cause vision loss. The work aims to identify practical pharmacological interventions that could prevent or slow this damage. Research is conducted at the VA Western New York Healthcare System and builds on ongoing VA-funded projects toward treatments that could move into clinical testing.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to medicines that prevent or slow vision loss from battlefield or other traumatic eye/brain injuries and from some inherited retinal disorders.
How similar studies have gone: Related preclinical studies have identified promising targets for retinal protection, but proven patient treatments for trauma-induced vision loss and RP59 remain limited and under development.
Where this research is happening
-
VA Western New York Healthcare System
Buffalo, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Fliesler, Steven J. — VA Western New York Healthcare System
- Study coordinator: Fliesler, Steven J.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.