Newswise — Rockville, Md.—The ARVO Foundation has named Ximena Corso-Díaz, MSc, PhD, as the 2025 recipient of the Genentech Career Development Award for Underrepresented Minority (URM) Emerging Vision Scientists. With a two-year grant of $100,000 to support research and personnel costs for establishing an independent vision research program, the award provides early-career URM investigators with an opportunity to explore novel and innovative research project ideas.
Corso-Díaz is an assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at Stanford University whose research focuses on prevention of retinal degeneration — a leading cause of blindness worldwide with few treatments to prevent or slow its progression. She notes this is due in part to limited understanding of basic mechanisms regulating retina development and function. “R-loops, which are RNA-containing DNA structures, play a crucial role in controlling how genes are switched on and off. When not properly regulated, R-loops can increase DNA damage leading to neuronal disfunction and/or cell death. Accumulation of R-loops and mutations in RNA-binding proteins that regulate them are linked to various brain disorders and cancers, but their roles in the retina are poorly understood,” she explains. Corso-Díaz discovered recently that R-loops are linked to DNA regions involved in regulating gene activity. “This study aims to elucidate how R-loops and RNA-binding proteins influence gene regulation and genome integrity in the retina, providing insights into retinal health and disease and identifying potential targets for preventing retinal degeneration.”
The Genentech Award is intended to provide resources to promote generation of promising preliminary results, and also matches the recipient with an experienced ARVO mentor outside of their home institution for career advancement support. “At this early stage of my independent career, this award will empower me to pursue novel research ideas and focus on yet unexplored molecular mechanisms involved in gene regulation in the retina that have potential implications for the treatment of retinal degeneration,” says Corso-Díaz. She adds the recognition will enable her to contribute as well to the scientific community by allowing her to train junior scientists, obtain preliminary data to secure long-term funding and disseminate her work.
For more information about the Genentech Career Development Award for Underrepresented Minority Emerging Vision Scientists, visit ARVO’s website.
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The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is the largest eye and vision research organization in the world. Members include approximately 10,000 eye and vision researchers from over 75 countries. ARVO advances research worldwide into understanding the visual system and preventing, treating and curing its disorders. Learn more at ARVO.org.
Established in 2001, the ARVO Foundation for Eye Research raises funds through partnerships, grants and sponsorships to support ARVO’s world-class education and career development resources for eye and vision researchers of all stages of career and education. Learn more at ARVOFoundation.org.
Founded more than 40 years ago, Genentech is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines to treat patients with serious and life-threatening medical conditions. The company, a member of the Roche Group, has headquarters in South San Francisco, California. For additional information about the company, please visit Gene.com.
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