Bala Ambati, a research professor of bioengineering at the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, has received nearly $500,000 in funding from iVEena Delivery Systems, Inc. and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance a new therapeutic for nearsightedness, the leading cause of vision loss globally.

Children who develop nearsightedness early in life are more likely to develop more serious eye problems, like cataracts, over time. Ambati’s team is working to address that by developing a topical eye drop for pediatric nearsightedness, with hopes that it will slow progression, avoid side-effects and prevent more serious complications later in life. These therapeutic eye drops work by strengthening collagen in eye structures like the cornea and sclera.