Reference number : GC-2017-Q1-00258, amendment number : , agreement type : G, recipient legal name : Brunette, Isabelle (Université de Montréal), recipient country : CA, recipient province : nan, recipient city : Quebec|Québec, recipient postal code : nan, program name english : Collaborative Health Research Projects, program name french : Projets de recherche concertée sur la santé, program purpose english : The cornea is the outer window to the eye that transmits light to the retina for vision._x000D_
Permanent transparency loss, due to disease or damage, can result in vision loss and_x000D_
blindness. Transplantation of human donor corneas is the only widely accepted treatment, but_x000D_
it is overshadowed by a worldwide shortage (only 1 donor cornea available for every 70_x000D_
needed) and functional limitations (sub-optimal optical results, rejection, and graft failure),_x000D_
particularly in very sick eyes with inflammation and infection._x000D_
Our goals are (1) to overcome the donor shortage and to improve surgical outcomes by_x000D_
developing biosynthetic alternatives to donor corneas, and (2) to revolutionize cornea surgical_x000D_
methods so that patients can be treated by removing only the damaged tissue and filling the_x000D_
resulting tissue gap with a transparent, injectable hydrogel that will be polymerized in situ_x000D_
instead of a full transplantation, somewhat like dental fillings._x000D_
In regenerative medicine, biomaterials are used as scaffolds to promote tissue repair. Our_x000D_
approach consists in designing collagen mimics at the nanoscale level and allowing these to_x000D_
self-assemble into full size 3-D scaffolds after injection into the diseased cornea. We will then_x000D_
use light to start the crosslinking reaction, to form a stable, transparent graft._x000D_
Our proposed new treatment comprising of a new surgical paradigm and new biomaterials will_x000D_
offer a minimally invasive and unequaled alternative for sight restoration. Our approach will_x000D_
have a tremendous impact in patients who currently have very poor prognosis with traditional_x000D_
corneal transplantation., program purpose french : The cornea is the outer window to the eye that transmits light to the retina for vision._x000D_
Permanent transparency loss, due to disease or damage, can result in vision loss and_x000D_
blindness. Transplantation of human donor corneas is the only widely accepted treatment, but_x000D_
it is overshadowed by a worldwide shortage (only 1 donor cornea available for every 70_x000D_
needed) and functional limitations (sub-optimal optical results, rejection, and graft failure),_x000D_
particularly in very sick eyes with inflammation and infection._x000D_
Our goals are (1) to overcome the donor shortage and to improve surgical outcomes by_x000D_
developing biosynthetic alternatives to donor corneas, and (2) to revolutionize cornea surgical_x000D_
methods so that patients can be treated by removing only the damaged tissue and filling the_x000D_
resulting tissue gap with a transparent, injectable hydrogel that will be polymerized in situ_x000D_
instead of a full transplantation, somewhat like dental fillings._x000D_
In regenerative medicine, biomaterials are used as scaffolds to promote tissue repair. Our_x000D_
approach consists in designing collagen mimics at the nanoscale level and allowing these to_x000D_
self-assemble into full size 3-D scaffolds after injection into the diseased cornea. We will then_x000D_
use light to start the crosslinking reaction, to form a stable, transparent graft._x000D_
Our proposed new treatment comprising of a new surgical paradigm and new biomaterials will_x000D_
offer a minimally invasive and unequaled alternative for sight restoration. Our approach will_x000D_
have a tremendous impact in patients who currently have very poor prognosis with traditional_x000D_
corneal transplantation., agreement title english : Biosynthetic alternatives to human donor corneal transplantation, agreement title french : Biosynthetic alternatives to human donor corneal transplantation, agreement number : CHRPJ, agreement value : 321657.0, agreement start date : 2017-04-25, agreement end date : nan, description english : nan, description french : nan, expected results english : nan, expected results french : nan, additional information english : Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year. (2017-2018 to 2020-2021), additional information french : Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier. (2017-2018 à 2020-2021), owner organization : nserc-crsng, owner organization title : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada