# BLRD Research Career Scientist Award Application

> **NIH VA IK6** · VA WESTERN NEW YORK HEALTHCARE SYSTEM · 2024 · —

## Abstract

This is the first competing renewal application for my RCS Award. My lab has been engaged in the field of eye
research for >37 years; I’ve been a tenured full Professor since 1994. Historically, our focus has been on
understanding the normal role of cholesterol and related isoprenoid compounds in promoting and preserving the
structure and function of the retina. However, more recently (during the RCS Award period), we’ve turned to
studies relevant to traumatic injury to the eye and visual system. Eye injuries resulting in compromised or lost
vision are among the signature injuries sustained by our Veterans and deployed soldiers engaged in the recent
conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan (OEF, OIF). Currently, about 170,000 Veterans are legally blind, and nearly 1.5
million have some kind of visual deficit that is battle-related. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is another signature
injury of those conflicts; a significant percentage of TBI patients suffer visual deficits, nearly a third of which are
blast-induced. My lab’s goal is to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these kinds of
trauma-induced vision loss, and to find practical pharmacological interventions to prevent or retard their
progression. Those studies are funded by an ongoing VA MERIT Award. In addition, we’re investigating a form
of retinitis pigmentosa (RP59)— a hereditary progressive blinding disorder— about which little is known, initially
in an effort to understand the causes of the associated retinal degeneration at the molecular level and eventually
to develop gene therapy approaches to ameliorate or prevent the degeneration and vision loss. Those studies
are supported by an ongoing NEI/NIH R01 grant award. I’ve been a VA Research Service staff member at the
Buffalo VAMC since July, 2008, and an RCSA recipient since April, 2016. I hold a tenured endowed chair
Professorship and am Vice-Chair/Director of Research in the Dept. of Ophthalmology at the affiliated university
(SUNY- University at Buffalo (UB)). I am the only person in the history of my department to become a UB
Distinguished Professor and a SUNY Distinguished Professor, and I am the sole RCSA recipient at my VA site.
Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to have numerous, productive collaborations, both with VA and non-VA
researchers, including current, ongoing projects, and have a strong history of extramural grant funding. I’ve
authored or coauthored 129 peer-reviewed publications (+2 in press, + 2 under review)— 38% of which have
been published since I joined the VA— plus 10 book chapters and 242 conference abstracts. I’ve given 241
invited lectures (120 while on VA staff) at other universities and research institutions, plus 65 platform
presentations (15 while on VA staff) at biomedical research conferences, nationally and internationally. I’ve
engaged in multiple service activities— to the VA (local and national), my university, and the broader research
community— including service on VA, NIH, DOD...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10726586
- **Project number:** 5IK6BX005787-03
- **Recipient organization:** VA WESTERN NEW YORK HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** Steven J. Fliesler
- **Activity code:** IK6 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-10-01 → 2026-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10726586

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10726586, BLRD Research Career Scientist Award Application (5IK6BX005787-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10726586. Licensed CC0.

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