Qiuhua Zhang Receives Receives $60,000 Grant from the Knights Templar Eye Foundation.
Memphis, Tenn. (September 6, 2012) – Representatives of the Knights Templar Eye Foundation are very appreciative of the research
efforts of Qiuhua Zhang, PhD, a postdoctoral research trainee in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center
(UTHSC). The foundation has so much belief in her work that it recently awarded Dr. Zhang a $60,000 grant to support her efforts.
The focus of Dr. Zhang’s research is the optimization of superselective intraophthalmic artery chemotherapy (SSIOAC), a technique designed to deliver
high intraocular concentrations of chemotherapy to treat extensive disease while minimizing system exposure. Though SSIOAC is very effective against
retinoblastoma, it has had its own vision-threatening adverse effects.
Dr. Zhang hopes to optimize the SSIOAC treatment so that one day it may be the standard treatment for retinoblastoma, instead of conventional
chemotherapy, the current treatment option, which also has adverse effects.
“This Knights Templar donation will allow Dr. Zhang to continue her work on a novel treatment for retinoblastoma as well as move toward her long-term
career goal to become an independent researcher,” stated her mentor Jena Steinle, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at UTHSC.
The Knights Templar Eye Foundation
is a nonprofit that provides funds for research, surgical treatment and hospitalization to those who suffer from diseases or injury to the eyes. For
more information, visit www.ktef.org
As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is to bring
the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by
pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service. In 2011, UT Health Science Center celebrated its centennial:
100 years advancing the future of health care. Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in
Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. The UTHSC campus in
Knoxville includes a College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and an Allied Health Sciences unit. In addition, the UTHSC Chattanooga campus includes a
College of Medicine and an Allied Health Sciences unit. Since its founding in 1911, UTHSC has educated and trained more than 53,000 health care
professionals on campuses and in health care facilities across the state. For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.
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