Vision and Blindness Prevention
Vision Training Program
The Stanford Institute for Neuro-Innovation and Translational Neurosciences (SINTN) and Department of Ophthalmology are requesting applications for vision research training post-doctoral full-time research positions. We will fund 3 scholars, each for up to 1 year. The 2012-2013 positions are available on April 1, 2012.
In work ranging from the development of artificial corneas to studies of the genetics of macular degeneration, scientists armed with better information are bringing hope to those whose eyesight is threatened. Blindness and vision research is also benefiting from new knowledge about how the nervous system develops, especially what we have learned about the way that signal molecules guide nerve growth in the visual system.
Sight is threatened by diseases such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, infectious and degenerative diseases of the cornea, diseases of the optic nerve from the eye to the brain, and the effects of advanced diabetes on the retina (the light sensitive tissue at the back of the eye). In infancy and childhood, vision may be threatened by congenital cataracts, strabismus (crossed eyes), amblyopia (“lazy eye”), and various complications of premature birth.
New developments in prosthetics and regenerative medicine, as well as the tools provided by pharmacology and microsurgery, hold hope for a brighter future. Techniques being explored at the center include gene modification, stem cell implantation, engineering of retinal prosthetics, and nanotechnology.
Researchers spanning many disciplines are working together to stop the degenerative processes involved in vision loss, and collaborating with engineers to use computer technology to create new vision aids.
The prevention of blindness starts with an appreciation for the neurons, circuits, and physiology that underlie vision. Basic research into the nerve pathways in the brain that serve sight, including the cognitive process that interprets the signals from the retina, will pave the way for new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic approaches. The goal is not just knowledge, but the translation of that knowledge into devices, diagnostic procedures and therapies to treat and prevent blindness.
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