International Research Agenda IRAP FENG / Foundation for Polish Science

Project Leader: prof. dr hab. Maciej Wojtkowski

This research program aims to develop new tools for safer and more effective surgical interventions, new therapies for eye diseases, and diagnostic methods to improve prognosis and restore vision. The main technology to be developed under this program will be a novel robotic system for delivering drugs to the eye and performing a tissue biopsy, in which a robotic system will assist the micromanipulation of the injection device with 3-D localized imaging.

To achieve this goal, we plan to sustain interdisciplinary collaboration and synergy between ICTER groups, with expertise including functional, molecular, and intraoperative imaging, surgical robotics, protein structure- based contrast agents, optogenetic gene therapy, electrophysiology, and single-cell genomics with bioinformatics. In this project, we will use the functional imaging techniques developed in the implementation of the previous ICTER research agenda and thus expand their level of technological readiness. The applicability of the new technique will be verified through three complementary approaches:

  1. through the development of optogenetic therapy for the treatment of blindness using novel vectors for the transmission of genetic material,
  2. in spatially resolved multimodal single-cell genomic profiling studies for the identification of uveal melanoma growth factors, and
  3. through the development of novel methods for the identification of exogenous contrast agents for the early detection of diabetic retinopathy by in vivo molecular imaging of the eye.

The development work associated with implementing this program qualifies from TRL4 to TRL7. The results of this project will benefit a large number of people with degenerative and inherited eye diseases such as retinal pigmentary degeneration and Leber congenital blindness, among others, as well as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, uveal melanoma, and corneal cone.

Total funding: 30 000 000 PLN