Dr. Freya Mowat, BVSc, PhD, is the recipient of the 2015 National Phi Zeta Manuscript Award in the Basic Sciences category. The Society of Phi Zeta recognizes two manuscripts each year, one for basic science research and another for clinical research. Winning manuscripts are selected for originality, scientific significance of the work, relevance to veterinary medicine, quality of the study performed, and clarity.
Mowat’s manuscript, “Tyrosine capsid-mutant AAV vectors for gene delivery to the canine retina from a subretinal or intravitreal approach,” was published in the journal Gene Therapy in 2014. Her co-authors from the MSU Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences were Kara Gornik, who was an ophthalmology research intern; Simon Petersen-Jones, Myers-Dunlap Chair in Canine Health and professor of comparative ophthalmology; and Joshua Bartoe, associate professor of ophthalmology. Coauthors from the University of Florida College of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology were Astra Dinculescu, Shannon Boye, and William Hauswirth.
In the research described in Mowat’s manuscript, the team evaluated the speed and efficiency of delivering genetic material to retinal cells using viral vectors injected both subretinally and intravitreally. Previous research by Mowat and Petersen-Jones determined the benefits of gene therapy in dogs with the equivalent of a form of Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), one of the most common causes of blindness in children. Researchers in the LCA study delivered the genes subretinally, beneath the retina. The research was recently published as “Long-Term Effect of Gene Therapy on Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis” in the New England Journal of Medicine. This most recent research evaluated the efficiency of delivering genes intravitreally, beneath the retina and into the subretinal space.
Currently, subretinal injection is used as the standard for delivery of gene therapy to the outer retina and retinal pigment epithelium. However, this approach poses technical challenges and potential complications, including necessarily producing a temporary retinal detachment.
Mowat’s research demonstrated that delivering gene therapy by intravitreal injection showed promise to deliver genes to the outer retina and/or the retinal pigment epithelium and circumvent many of the challenges and potential complications of subretinal injection.
By refining the methods and approaches to gene therapy in the canine retina, important advances can be made in the prospective treatment of early-onset and rapidly progressive retinal dystrophy in people. Ongoing studies by MSU researchers in additional canine models are paving the way for human gene therapy trials aiming to treat diseases such as achromatopsia and autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa.
Mowat completed her combined postdoctoral program in the Petersen-Jones lab and a comparative ophthalmology residency and is currently an assistant professor in veterinary ophthalmology at North Carolina State University. Under the mentorship of Petersen-Jones and the MSU ophthalmology team, she received clinical training as a European College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ECVO) resident and then completed the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO) training program. She recently became an ECVO diplomate.
Mowat received several honors while a resident at MSU, including the 2014 American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO) award for the best basic science research manuscript by a resident and the American Association of Veterinary Clinicians residents' award for a high degree of excellence in research.
July 28, 2015