Blind Study

A privilege of the work I do is being allowed behind the curtain of many worlds that I would not otherwise get to see—and share with others. One of my favorite worlds to witness is made of laboratories, research facilities, and the offices of some of the world’s most brilliant minds. It gives me hope for a better future.

I traveled to five different universities where researchers had received much-coveted grants. This money is very hard to come by, because the funder bestows a level of trust upon the researcher, with very few strings attached. Imagine paying a carpenter a few thousand dollars in the hopes that she might find a new way to make a cabinet. But then again, she may not.

From Zebrafish, to electron microscopy, this project took me from Harvard to Kentucky, Boulder to Stanford. I won’t pretend to understand all that I saw, but perhaps the most interesting study was Dr. Ann Morris’ work learning about ocular regeneration in Zebrafish. Apparently, if they lose an eye, it can grow back. The hope is that we may be able to regrow damaged human eyes in the same way. Now that sounds worth the money.