MERI member Prof. Donna Neumann (DOVS) has been awarded a five-year R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to support her project, “A chromatin loop controls the expression of anterograde transport genes during HSV-1.” This highly competitive award builds on preliminary research supported by a pilot grant from MERI’s Grant Summit Program, underscoring the Institute’s commitment to fostering innovative, high-impact vision research.
Prof. Neumann’s research seeks to uncover the molecular mechanisms that allow herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) to reactivate in sensory neurons and spread back to the eye—a major cause of recurrent ocular disease and blindness. By identifying how viral chromatin structure regulates latency and reactivation, her work aims to advance new therapeutic strategies to block viral reactivation, prevent transmission, and ultimately reduce vision loss. This NIH award highlights both the promise of Prof. Neumann’s research, as well as the critical role of MERI pilot funding in accelerating discoveries from early concept to major federal support.