Vadim Y. Arshavsky, PhD, a professor of ophthalmology and neurobiology at Duke School of Medicine, has been granted a $65,000 Senor Scientific Investigator Award by the Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB). These awards support nationally recognized senior scientists conducting eye research at medical institutions in the United States. Arshavsky is one of 141 scientists at institutions so honored since the award was established in 1987.

He will explore a novel hypothesis that photoreceptor cells exposed to continuous light are protected from light-induced damage in part because there is a massive protein translocation between the major cellular compartments. When constantly exposed to light, protein translocation may serve to optimize the protein complement of the light-sensitive part of the cell to reduce excessive signaling. We believe that these studies are directly relevant to identification of future strategies ameliorating visual loss from neurodegenerative diseases, says Arshavsky.

RPB is the world’s leading voluntary organization supporting eye research. Since it was founded in 1960, RPB has channeled hundreds of millions of dollars to medical institutions for research into the causes, treatment and prevention of blinding eye diseases.