College of Medicine honors Dr. Maria Grant for research into diabetic eye conditions

Maria Grant, M.D., is this year’s recipient of the University of Florida College of Medicine Basic Science Research Award for her work on the mechanisms and treatment of diabetic retinopathy, with a focus on angiogenesis, or the growth of blood vessels in the eye.

“The growth of abnormal blood vessels on the surface of the eye is a common complication from diabetes, and one that causes many people with diabetes to go blind,” she said.

Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the Diabetic Retinopathy Foundation. The existing remedy for angiogenesis preserves central vision, but can reduce peripheral vision and night vision, Grant said.

“The only treatment that is currently available is laser surgery,” she said. “Right now inhibitors of new blood-vessel growth developed by our researchers are undergoing multicenter clinical trials. We hope that our research can contribute to creating a treatment that is preventative or regressive.”

Grant is a professor of pharmacology and therapeutics. She received her M.D. from UF in 1979 and has been performing research on diabetic retinopathy at UF since 1983.

Grant said she was shocked to learn she was receiving the award. “We’ve been doing this research for a long time, and you never think you’re going to get much notice for it because it’s only a small part of all the great things being done here,” Grant said. “Of course, awards aren’t the reason you do the research. But it is nice to be recognized.”

The Basic Science Research Award, which includes a plaque and a $5,000 honorarium, is given every year by the College of Medicine for research contributing to the understanding of the fundamental underlying principles of biology and medicine. College of Medicine Dean C. Craig Tisher, M.D., presented the honor to Grant April 11 at the college’s annual Research Day faculty dinner.