Bhanu P. Telugu, an associate professor in the Division of Animal Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, is the 2022 recipient of the third annual Randy Wheelock Research Award from the Choroideremia Research Foundation (CRF).
A rare inherited disorder, choroideremia (CHM) causes progressive vision loss and ultimately leads to complete blindness. The incurable disease affects the retina, an area at the back of the eye.
“I am deeply grateful and honored by this award,” Telugu said. “This initial seed investment from the foundation will allow us to leverage our core expertise in genetic engineering to generate a much-needed preclinical CHM pig model to advance cures to the patients."
This novel large-animal model will serve to bridge an important gap in the ability to develop stem-cell and gene-therapy-based treatments in humans.
The award comes with a $50,000 grant.
“For the first time, CRF is excited to support the development of a large animal (porcine) model to advance our research goals,” said Neal Bench, board president of the foundation. “Pig models are a vital next step that allows us to develop treatments that can be readily translated to human patients.”
Randy Wheelock became involved with CRF in 2007 and eventually served as the organization’s chief advisor for research and therapy development. He was an integral part of the organization’s achievements over the years.
To keep Randy’s dream alive after his passing in 2019, CRF launched the annual award in support of emerging scientists and research professionals working on choroideremia or related issues.
The title of Telugu’s proposal is “A Novel Porcine Pre-Clinical Model for Choroideremia Research.”
Telugu also serves as the founder, president and chief scientific officer of RenOVAte Biosciences Inc., a Maryland-based start-up company.