Naïg Chenais (EPFL 2023)

Retinal degeneration is the ophthalmic condition that causes the most visual impairment in the working population in Switzerland and Europe. Hereditary retinal dystrophies in particular are characterised by the early death of photoreceptors, the light-sensitive cells of the retina, and the progressive and irreversible loss of the field of vision.

The genetic heterogeneity of patients is a major obstacle to the development of treatments. A promising approach is to act downstream of gene expression, targeting cellular mechanisms to offer solutions tailored to different types of mutations, including those that have not yet been identified.

To develop such a neuroprotective therapy, it is crucial to understand photoreceptors at the subcellular level. Photoreceptors are highly compartmentalised cells, and a better understanding of the nanodomains that compose them and their alteration during degeneration is necessary to identify common therapeutic targets.

This ambitious project, conducted at the Jules Gonin Ophthalmic Hospital, combines fundamental neuroscience and therapeutic applications. The aim is to demonstrate the cellular processes at work in nanodomains and then validate the specificity of therapeutic targets through structural and functional tests. In addition, this approach will be validated using innovative in vitro retina models, thus ensuring its applicability in humans.