Researcher's team targets macular degeneration by transplanting lab-grown retinal cells
Having a close friend who was blind as a teenager gave Valeria Canto-Soler, PhD, a clear vision for her future. She wanted to help people with vision problems recover their sight.
The associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine carried that interest into her biomedical sciences program at Austral University in Buenos Aires and then on to her job at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, where the noted researcher is transforming the field of ophthalmology.
"I was doing my PhD when I thought I really would like to devote my career to things that can be translated to clinic and that can eventually reach the patients and improve their quality of life and, hopefully, restore their vision," Canto-Soler said.
The latest episode of the Health Science Radio podcast explores the devoted passion of Canto-Soler and her team to fulfill her long-held dream.
Listen to the Podcast:
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in developed countries. About 20 million people in the U.S. have AMD - among 200 million sufferers worldwide. "Even more concerning is the fact that the number of people affected by AMD is actually expected to reach close to 300 million people within the next 10 to 15 years," Canto-Soler said.
She is the director of CellSight, the ocular stem cell and regeneration program at the Department of Ophthalmology, and the Doni Solich Family Chair in Ocular Stem Cell Research at CU Anschutz. Canto-Soler's team is working toward one of the most ambitious goals in its field - transplanting cells that can regenerate both pigmented and photoreceptor cells in the retina and restore vision for the blind.
On the podcast, Canto-Soler shares the twists and turns of her research journey. She explains that at one point she feared her dream "was too big" and maybe "not feasible" - until she interviewed for a position in the Department of Ophthalmology at the CU School of Medicine.
"I can tell you that those two days I spent on campus really convinced me that this was the right place with the right people, with the right infrastructure to make my dream come true," she said. "I think a lot of that has to do with the commitment of the leadership in the Department of Ophthalmology and the CU Anschutz campus - the vision. I just found people here that share my vision and were as committed as I was to try to make it happen."
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