An international collaboration between UC Santa Barbara, the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), and several other research institutions, is bringing together leaders in the fields of stem cell biology, basic science, and ophthalmology to develop a treatment for blindness caused by age-related macular degeneration. The California Project to Cure Blindness (CPCB) was formed with a $16 million California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) "disease team" grant awarded in late 2009 to fund development of a stem cell-based treatment for age-related macular degeneration. As part of the CIRM Disease Team partnership program, an additional $4.1 million from Britain's Medical Research Council funds collaborative work at University College of London. - See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2010/012937/ucsb-part-international-research-collaboration-focusing-age-related-macular-degeneration#sthash.5E6MUdkq.dpuf