Eye Researcher Receives Blindness Prevention Award

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Gail Seigel, Ph.D., assistant professor of ophthalmology and physiology and biophysics in the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, has received a $50,000 Sybil B. Harrington Scholar Award from Research to Prevent Blindness to support her research into diseases of the eye.

The award is part of the organization's special scholar program designed to support outstanding young scientists who are conducting research of unusual significance. Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) is the leading non-government supporter of eye research, and has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to advance treatment and cure of eye diseases.

Seigel's research centers on chemo-resistant cells in retinoblastoma, an eye cancer caused by the loss of a pair of tumor-suppressor genes, cell death in diabetic retinopathy, high-resolution imaging in retinal disease and corneal repair.

Seigel works under the auspices of UB's Ira G. Ross Eye Institute, a collaborative center for eye and vision care involving the UB Department of Ophthalmology, the research arm; the Elizabeth Pierce Olmsted, M.D., Center for the Visually Impaired, the rehabilitation and training arm, and University Ophthalmology Services, the clinical diagnosis and treatment arm.

She is a resident of Rochester.