Medical School prof wins grant

A professor in Penn's School of Medicine will be presented this week with the Lois Pope LIFE Foundation International Research Award, which includes a $100,000 research grant. Opthamology Professor Jean Bennett won the grant for her research on a treatment for macular degeneration, a leakage of blood into neural cells of the eye that is the leading cause of blindness among older Americans. The laser treatment currently available to correct the disorder is risky and impermanent and cannot be used on most people affected by macular degeneration, Bennett said, calling the situation "pretty bleak" for those who have the condition. Only humans are affected by macular degeneration, so testing potential treatments is very difficult, she noted. Bennett's research team developed mice that are genetically engineered to create the conditions necessary to study the disorder. Though testing will now be done only on animals, Bennett said, treatments could be tested on humans in the near future. "That, theoretically, is not far away," she said, noting that human trials could begin in as little as two years. Bennett said the grant from the LIFE Foundation will allow her team to work quicker in developing treatments for macular degeneration than it otherwise could have. She praised Pope, the widow of former National Enquirer publisher Generoso Pope and founder of the LIFE Foundation, for her work to make the research award possible. "I'm very grateful" to Pope, Bennett said, and "also to the members of my team who have really been instrumental in developing this animal model." Bennett was assisted in her work by doctoral student Abha Gupta. Others involved with the macular degeneration research and the development of the mice to be used in the study include Opthamology professors Albert Maguire, Samuel Jacobson and Ann Milam. Pope, a Philadelphia native, will present the award to Bennett on Thursday at a dinner in the Lower Egyptian Gallery of the University Museum. The Leaders in Furthering Education Foundation funds five major philanthropic programs: The Lois Pope Life Center, the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation, the Presidential Unsung Hero Award, the Unsung Hero Awards Program and the Lois Pope LIFE Summer Camp Program.