Usher syndrome is the leading cause of combined hearing and vision loss in the U.S.

Insights from our Research Leaders

Dr. William Kimberling
Director, National Center for the Study and Treatment of Usher Syndrome

"Today, when I sit down with the parents of a child with Usher syndrome who are trying to cope with the certainty that their child will go blind because of RP, I am able to offer them hope. I can say with confidence that, with adequate funding, scientific breakthroughs will be available in the near future to halt or even reverse the disorder and that I believe a cure is inevitable. It's no longer a matter of "if" it can happen, but a matter of funding to assemble the best scientists and acquire the necessary laboratory equipment."

Dr. Dominic Cosgrove
Director, Division of Therapeutic Strategy Development

"We live in a time of unprecedented scientific progress. The National Center for the Study and Treatment of Usher Syndrome provides a focus for bringing the necessary people together to make rapid progress toward the development of therapies. The development of new biotechnology based treatments for previously untreatable disorders is exploding. Effective drug development programs require a tightly coordinated multidisciplinary approach. The Center is applying this approach to Usher syndrome. The net effect will be rapid progress in our understanding of how defects in genes result in the disorder and will point the way toward development of therapies to slow, arrest, or reverse it's progress."