Ula V. Jurkunas, MD, received a grant from the National Institutes of Health in the amount of $3,431,841 over 4 years for her project, “Safety and Feasibility of Cultivated Autologous Limbal Epithelial Cell (CALEC) Transplantation in the Treatment of Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency.” This grant includes work performed at Mass. Eye and Ear, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and Jaeb Center for Health Research in Tampa, Florida.

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Findings may lead to the development of therapies to prevent damage to the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye.

Boston, Mass. — Chemical eye burns caused by alkali agents not only injure the front of the eye — the cornea, where the contact takes place —  but also cause widespread damage to the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye (the retina) as well, often leading to optic nerve damage and glaucoma. In a report...