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A $65,000 grant was awarded to Oliver Voecking, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Scholar, at the
University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky; the Sir Knights from the Grand Commandery of Kentucky
were: J. William Riggs, Grand Commander and William Jackson, Grand Generalissimo

The vertebrate eye is a highly complex organ, made of different functional components.
The acuity of vision mainly depends on the well-known neural retina on the one hand and
the anterior segment on the other. Even though the latter is critically important, knowledge
about its origins and development is still limited. It is known, that a group of cells named
periocular mesenchyme (POM) serves as the main source of the anterior segment. However,
their understanding of molecular function and processes during POM development is scarce.

Accordingly, diseases associated with anterior
segment dysgenesis, like corneal dystrophy,
cataracts Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome and
several others, have no clear molecular
explanation or treatment. So far, the molecular
identity of POM can only be characterized
by a few marker genes, mainly transcription
factors, without knowing much about their
actual function during development. One
of these transcription factors, known to be
crucially important, is Foxc1.
In this study they propose to analyze the development of POM cells in zebrafish, by focusing
on the molecular function of Foxc1b. They will characterize its regulation and expression
and compare it between different developmental stages. For this, they will generate single-
cell transcriptomes, which will also enable them to identify further POM specific genes
and even potential interacting partners of Foxc1b. This will drastically increase their
understanding of POM development and ultimately help to develop screening for anterior
segment associated diseases.

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