Joint funding research with Fight for Sight
8 February 2022
We’re very pleased to be funding research jointly with Fight for Sight. We collaborate with a wide range of partners in our shared vision to make a difference to the lives of people with sight loss.
Funding partnerships promote the innovative work supported by medical research charities. They help us achieve more as an eye health sector. We have other partnerships with Diabetes UK and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
Our partnerships
We’re co-funding research with Diabetes UK which aims to guide future management for people with diabetic macular oedema.
We’ve also joined forces with the NIHR to invest in training and development opportunities for future leaders.
1 in 7
Proportion of Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) grants active in 2020 that were reported to be co-funded with other organisation(s).
Research into inherited retinal disease
Inherited retinal diseases are the commonest cause of blindness amongst working age adults in the UK. They are caused by faults (also called mutations) in our genetic code or DNA.
1 in 2000
people worldwide affected by inherited retinal diseases
One example is the CRB1 gene. When mutations exist in this gene, individuals can develop different patterns of sight loss. This includes the different loss of vision seen in Leber’s congential amaurosis and retinitis pigmentosa.
CRB1 gene
Learn more
The CRB1 gene provides instructions for making a protein that plays an essential role in the development of the light sensitive layer at the back of our eye (the retina) and in parts of our brain.
Individuals with Leber’s congenital amaurosis experience sight loss from birth. People with retinitis pigmentosa have progressive sight loss from later in childhood or early adulthood. Mutations in the CRB1 gene can also lead to the loss of central vision first, followed by peripheral field of view.
We are jointly funding, with Fight for Sight, a research project led by Professor Mariya Moosajee, consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital.
Professor Mariya Moosajee
This research will focus on understanding how this mutation brings about a range of clinical features of varying severity.
It aims to inform future research and ultimately benefit patients. A fuller understanding of the condition will help clinicians provide patients with information on the time-course of their disease. It could also determine the suitability for gene therapy or other possible treatments.
We’re delighted to be working with Fight for Sight and to strengthen the investment in eye health research.
Ailish Murray, director of grants and research, Moorfields Eye Charity
This vital research will help us better understand the different types of inherited retinal disease affected by the CRB1 gene and ultimately improve outcomes for patients.
Mariya Moosajee, consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital
