Michael Moran receives grant for research on genetic eye disease

2013 Jun 26

Fight for Sight, a national nonprofit organization that funds vision-related research, selected University of Dayton student Michael Moran for a 2013 Summer Student Fellowship. Each year, about 25 students nationwide are chosen for this highly competitive research program.

Moran, from Cincinnati, Ohio, will spend his summer working in the lab of University of Dayton biology professor Amit Singh, Ph.D. Moran is a rising senior biology major at the University of Dayton who attended Roger Bacon High School.

In Singh's lab, Moran will study the genetic background behind the birth defect Aniridia, which is the absence of the iris, preventing healthy function of the eye and leading to many other vision-related issues as a person ages. Moran will study this disease using fruit flies whose eyes have been genetically modified to have the same characteristics as a human eye affected by Aniridia.

"The genetics of fruit flies are comparable to humans because we have a common ancestor making them a great model to use for genetic studies of human disorders," Moran said.

Moran has also conducted and presented research on Alzheimer's disease using the fruit fly as a genetic model.

Each Fight for Sight undergraduate fellow receives a $2,100 stipend for the 8- to 12-week fellowship. Moran is the fourth University of Dayton student in Dr. Singh's lab to receive a Fight for Sight fellowship.

The University of Dayton is a top-tier national, Catholic, research university and Ohio's largest private university. Founded by the Society of Mary (the Marianists), the University of Dayton educates students for excellence in scholarship and practical wisdom, grounded in faith and reason, to build community and partner for the common good.