CRF STRENGTHENS COMMITMENT TO FIND A CURE FOR CHOROIDEREMIA A RARE INHERETED RETINAL DISEASE THAT CAUSES BLINDNESS
![Maureen McCall, Ph.D., CRF Scientific Advisory Board member](https://img.einnews.com/medium/258412/maureen-mccall-ph-d.jpeg)
Maureen McCall, Ph.D., CRF Scientific Advisory Board member
Choroideremia Research Foundation invites Maureen McCall, Ph.D. to join science advisory board
SPRINGFIELD, MA, UNITED STATES, January 4, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Choroideremia Research Foundation (CRF) is thrilled to announce the expansion of its prestigious Scientific Advisory Board with the addition of Maureen McCall, Ph.D. Dr. McCall is Professor & Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Louisville (Kentucky). The CRF has funded more than $4 million in scientific research for a treatment and/or cure for choroideremia (CHM), a rare and inherited retinal disease that causes visual impairment and potentially complete blindness.
Dr. McCall brings a wealth of expertise that both expands and strengthens the counsel the Scientific Advisory Board provides to the CRF. Her research uses electrophysiological techniques to evaluate normal retinal function, dysfunction caused by blinding retinal diseases and the restoration of function using a variety of therapeutic strategies. Recently, Dr. McCall’s team developed a mutant NIH miniature swine model of a common form of autosomal dominant RP (Pro23His rhodopsin mutation) in collaboration with the National Swine Resource Research Center at University of Missouri. This experience and knowledge are especially valuable for the CRF as it plans to support future research studies using pig models.
The CRF Scientific Advisory Board provides guidance to the CRF as it works to accelerate gene therapy research, including non-viral based gene therapy options, stem cell replacement therapies, RNA therapies and other innovative treatments. The 12-member advisory board includes both academic researchers and medical practitioners from a range of ophthalmology specialties.
“We are very happy and grateful to have Dr. McCall join our Scientific Advisory Board that plays a crucial role in guiding our research program,” said Neal Bench, CRF board president. “Her expertise further expands the advisory board’s knowledge, which strengthens the invaluable counsel it provides.”
For more information about the research studies the CRF supports, please visit curechm.org/research/
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About Choroideremia
Choroideremia (CHM) is a rare inherited form of blindness affecting approximately 1 in 50,000 people. Due to its x-linked inheritance pattern males are most severely affected with females usually experiencing much milder visual impairment. Symptoms begin in early childhood with night blindness and restriction of visual field being the earliest noticeable effects and may eventually progress to complete blindness. An estimated 6,000 people in the United States and 10,000 in the European Union are impacted by Choroideremia. There are currently no approved treatments for Choroideremia.
About the Choroideremia Research Foundation Inc.
The Choroideremia Research Foundation was founded in 2000 as an international fundraising and patient advocacy organization to stimulate research on CHM. Since its inception, the CRF has provided over $2.5 million in research awards and is the largest financial supporter of CHM research worldwide. Research funded by the CRF has led to the development of a CHM animal model, the pre-clinical production of gene therapy vectors currently in clinical trials, and the CRF Biobank which stores tissue and stem cell samples donated by CHM patients. For more information, visit www.curechm.org
Kathleen Wagner
Choroideremia Research Foundation Inc
+1 800-210-0233
kathiwagner@curechm.org
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