The Johnson Laboratory at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute has spent the past 5 years working to develop stem cell therapies capable of regenerating the optic nerve and restoring vision for patients suffering from glaucoma.
This is a challenging goal since it requires the replacement of lost nerve cells in the eye and the building of new connections between these stem cell-derived neurons and the patient’s own cells in the retina and the brain.
Following up on last year’s TGF webinar, Dr. Johnson will present new and exciting developments from his research, showing that human neurons are able to form new connections with the recipient retina after being transplanted into the eye. This advance represents a major step forward towards eventually developing new treatments for reversing blindness in patients with glaucoma.