The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) is now part of a significant undertaking that will bring together more than 40 scientists, doctors, and industry experts from around the country to make vision-restoring whole-eye transplants a reality. And there is an award of up to $56 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Transplantation of Human Eye Allografts (THEA) program.
The awarded project title is Viability, Imaging, Surgical, Immunomodulation, Ocular Preservation and Neuroregeneration (VISION) Strategies for Whole Eye Transplant — a reflection of the depth of the collaboration assembled to solve such a complex challenge. The WFIRM was approved for an initial contracting commitment of $5.2 million over four years.
Dr. Vijay Gorantla – a renowned expert in Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation (VCA) and Professor at WFIRM – will join this project led by co-directors Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg at Stanford University and Dr. Jose Sahel at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The studies spearheaded by Dr. Gorantla at WFIRM will significantly address the technical, biological, and immunological hurdles in whole-eye transplants.
The VISION for Whole Eye Transplant project is holistic and the team is made up of a potent mix of expertise and skill, which will be needed as they simultaneously advance and create cutting-edge medical devices, artificial intelligence integrations, new surgical techniques, regenerative medicine breakthroughs, and rejection mitigation. This group will work dynamically, sharing information in real time and pursuing the most promising leads.
A strategic WFIRM partner and collaborator, BMI OrganBank, is working on the project under Dr. Varun Kopparthy, Vice President of Product Development. And BMI OrganBank will play a notable role in adapting proprietary organ and tissue-preservation devices to enhance donor eye viability for transplantation.
Meticulous donor eye selection, advanced ocular imaging, and specialized logistics in organ procurement and preservation will also be critical for success, and collaborators on this team are already the established leaders in these key areas of transplant science. At the end, tailored post-care rehabilitation for eye recipients will also be needed to set patients on the right track.
KEY QUOTES:
“Achieving vision restoration through whole eye transplantation is an unparalleled opportunity to transform lives. This ARPA-H program brings together unmatched expertise, innovative technologies, and a shared determination to overcome challenges once deemed insurmountable.”
– Dr. Gorantla
“This project represents the potential of regenerative medicine to solve complex medical challenges. Through collaboration and innovation, this work will advance technologies that could restore vision and fundamentally improve lives.”
– Dr. Anthony Atala, Director of WFIRM
