Thursday, February 19, 2026 2/19/2026

Restoration of Optic Nerve Function Driven by In Vivo Multimodal Electrical Stimulation

Award Number: R01EY035375
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2023
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/29/2028

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Restoration of Optic Nerve Function Driven by In Vivo Multimodal Electrical Stimulation - Project Summary To date, no therapy exists to restore vision to the over 64 million people worldwide who are legally blind from diseases that damage the optic nerve. Although current approaches for regenerating the optic nerve have successfully directed long distance axon regeneration, these strategies are still limited by the fact that 1) efficacy has generally been demonstrated when therapies were initiated before axon injury, which has limited clinical application; 2) they may carry a risk of neoplastic conversion and thus may not be readily deployed prophylactically; and 3) incidences of off target axon regeneration have been reported, indicating a need not just for signals that promote but also ones that direct axon growth to intended targets. Our multi-disciplinary collaboration between electrical engineers, neuroscientists, electrophysiologists, and neurosurgeons has enabled the collection of compelling preliminary data demonstrating that exogenously applied electric fields (EFs) control the direction of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axon growth, in-vitro. In vivo, stimulation with asymmetric waveforms was found to be effective at directing full-length optic nerve regeneration, without evidence of aberrant targeting, and restoring partial visual function (local field potential recordings in the superior colliculus and pattern electroretinogram) after crush injury. Interestingly, stimulation with symmetric waveforms was more effective at promoting RGC survival than asymmetric waveforms. The discovery that different waveforms (asymmetric versus symmetric) may activate distinct signaling pathways that control different cellular behaviors provides a unique opportunity to assess for synergistic effects from combined stimulation. Here, we propose to compare the efficacy of combined symmetric and asymmetric EF stimulation on restoring visual function over either treatment alone. Additionally, although EF stimulation with asymmetric waveforms was successful at restoring partial visual function, local field potential amplitudes within the superior colliculus were lower and latencies longer than in normal controls. Whether this dysfunction stems from ineffective RGC synaptic transmission (spatial summation) or absence of myelin (temporal summation) or both is unknown. Here, we propose to employ immunohistochemical, transsynaptic viral labeling techniques, and electrophysiology experiments to interrogate the source of this signaling deficiency. If successful, experiments proposed here have the potential to advance EF application into a strategy that, when applied synergistically with other approaches for RGC axon regeneration, can help regenerate the optic nerve and restore visual function of patients blinded by optic neuropathies.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2026	2025	UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA	3720 S FLOWER ST FL 3	LOS ANGELES	CA	90033	LOS ANGELES	USA	Vision Research	000	3	12/19/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$684,773
2026	2025	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE	160 ALDRICH HALL	IRVINE	CA	92697	ORANGE	USA	Vision Research	001	4	12/22/2025	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$684,773
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $684,773 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA	3720 S FLOWER ST FL 3	LOS ANGELES	CA	90033	LOS ANGELES	USA	Vision Research	000	3	3/14/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$684,773
														Subtotal = $684,773

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $690,056 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA	3720 S FLOWER ST FL 3	LOS ANGELES	CA	90089	LOS ANGELES	USA	Vision Research	000	2	3/4/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$690,056
														Subtotal = $690,056

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $598,003 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA	3720 S FLOWER ST	LOS ANGELES	CA	90089	LOS ANGELES	USA	Vision Research	000	1	8/31/2023	NEW	$598,003
														Subtotal = $598,003

Grand Total All Awards = $1,972,832

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Restoration of Optic Nerve Function Driven by In Vivo Multimodal Electrical Stimulation

Award Number: R01EY035375

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2023

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/29/2028

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer