Dr. David Gamm Receives the Latest Research Award from CRF to Investigate Rare Inherited Retinal Disorders
SPRINGFIELD, MA. – March 26, 2021 – The Choroideremia Research Foundation (CRF) is pleased to announce the recipient of the Auburn Theta Chi, Chi Chapter Research Award is David Gamm, MD, PhD, Director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at University of Wisconsin, Madison.
In Dr. Gamm’s proposal, Generation of Human iPSc Lines with Patient-Relevant REP-1 Mutation, he will lead a team to clarify the function of the REP-1 protein in leading to blindness. Encoded by the choroideremia (CHM) gene, Dr. Gamm currently uses patient-derived stem cells that result in variability between the cell lines. As a result, this genetic variability makes it difficult to compare outcomes across experiments. He will endeavor to engineer a pluripotent stem cell line (the ‘founder line’) from which all future mutant cell lines maybe derived. Differences in future results of tests conducted on mutant lines generated from the founder line will only be due to the specific mutation and not due to other variations in the genetic code.
“Dr. Gamm is a recognized leader in the field of inherited retinal diseases who the CRF has supported in previous research efforts,” said Neal Bench, CRF board president. “The results from this latest research will improve our understanding the critical role of REP-1 proteins in CHM.” Read More
