[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/westmay.jpg” caption=”Judith West-Mays”]Judith West-Mays, associate professor for the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, was recently awarded two major grants from the National Eye Institute.

In total, the grants will provide more than $1 million over a four-year period. West-Mays held similar awards during her appointment at the New England Medical Centre/Tufts University School of Medicine in the United States. Upon her arrival at McMaster University in January (2003), she re-applied to the National Eye Institute as a foreign applicant.

West-Mays' research focuses on the identification of genes implicated in eye development and disease, with the use of genetic mouse models. Her method of identification takes a unique approach, in which normal genes are isolated and then altered to determine their role in eye development. Using this approach, West-Mays is hoping to shed light on the genetic basis of a number of congenital eye defects, including cataracts, glaucoma, as well as age-related diseases affecting the retina.

“As the population ages, there will be a significant rise in the number of those affected with eye disease,” notes West-Mays. “Though visual impairment and blindness are not life-threatening, they can have a severe impact on an individual's quality of life.”

Currently, in North America it is estimated that 1.2 million people are legally blind, with many more afflicted with a potentially blinding disease. West-Mays is one of the few Canadian researchers focusing on eye development, particularly in relation to gene function and ocular disease.

Recently, West-Mays has embarked on a collaborative endeavor with Jack Gauldie, and the Centre for Gene Therapeutics. They will be combining their research to develop approaches for therapeutic gene transfer in the treatment of eye disease. West-Mays plans to use modern genomic and proteomic profiling techniques in order to identify key players in the cascade of genes that control eye development. Potential disease genes can then be targeted in developing therapeutic treatments for ocular disorders.

Kiran Somal is a communications assistant in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine