“During my exploration of prostate cancer and efforts to introduce a portion of a tumor suppressor into cancer cells, I encountered an intriguing solution: CPP, or cell-penetrating peptide. This concise peptide possesses the remarkable ability to ferry large proteins into cells. Delving deeper into the biology of CPP, I sought out human variants within their respective cell-penetrating proteins, discovering their heightened specificity towards human tissues. This revelation opened up an entirely new realm of biological understanding and potential applications.

One area that captured my focus for application was retinal diseases, particularly considering the absence of curative drugs for the approximately 20 million afflicted individuals. Among the limited treatment options, a single drug, administered via eye injection, serves around 3 million patients to slow disease progression. Collaborating with ophthalmologists, we assembled a dedicated team from the North Texas Eye Institute and sought counsel from seasoned pharmaceutics experts. Our endeavors led us to evaluate several candidates for eye drop administration in mouse models, and we are now poised to advance our research to testing in rabbits. Yet, to realize this next phase, we require additional resources.”