Stem Cell Research and Restoring Sight
Dr. Canto-Soler completed her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences at Austral University in Argentina and a postdoctoral fellowship at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University. She joined the Wilmer faculty as a research associate in 2006 and was promoted to assistant professor in 2008. In July 2017 she joined the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine as the Doni Solich Family Chair in Ocular Stem Cell Research and the Director of CellSight – the Ocular Stem Cell and Regeneration Research Program. Over the years she has received several national and international awards including the POEN Award for Best Research Study in Ophthalmology, the Alcon Research Institute Young Investigator Award, and the William & Mary Greve Special Scholar Award from Research to Prevent Blindness. She has also been named Outstanding Personality by the Council of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in recognition to her scientific contributions.
Using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC), a type of stem cells that can be generated from cells obtained from adult persons, Dr. Canto-Soler and her research team have recently established a method to generate light-sensitive miniature human retinas in a laboratory dish. At CellSight, they are currently using this breakthrough technology to develop novel stem cell-based therapeutics to save and restore sight in patients with blinding diseases