The National Eye Institute (NEI) — part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) — has opened the first stage of a federal prize competition designed to generate miniature, lab-grown human retinas.
According to NEI, the purpose of the competition it to find new ideas on creating standardized, reproducible 3-D retina organoids that can speed the discovery of treatments for diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic eye disease. The NEI reportedly plans to spend more than $1 million in prize money over the next three years to spur development of human retina organoids.
The 3-D Retina Organoid Challenge has two stages. Stage one, the ideation stage, aims to generate innovative ideas that can later be turned into concrete concepts and will run until August 1, 2017. And stage two, the development stage, will require demonstration of a functional retina organoid prototype. NEI reportedly plans to launch stage two in fall 2017.
Click here for details on the 3-D Retina Organoid Challenge.
Click here to read the full press release.
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Source: National Institutes of Health