Wayne State University and Kresge Eye Institute scientist Renu Kowluru, Ph.D., FARVO, has been invited to serve on the National Eye Advisory Council of the National Institutes of Health.

She is a professor and director of Translational Research for the Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences at the School of Medicine.

The NIH National Research Advisory Councils are consulted by and provide advice to the NIH director concerning pertinent programs. Councils usually meet three times a year at the NIH in Bethesda, Md. A major responsibility of the council is to review and make recommendations regarding grant applications to support biomedical research and research training activities. In this capacity, council members have the benefit of the technical and scientific advice of the expert consultants who performed the initial review of the grant applications for scientific merit.

“I am delighted and honored to have been selected to this elite council. I am ready to take upon the monumental responsibility to advise and recommend future program development of the National Eye Institute, and provide my expertise in performing the second level of peer review for research grant applications,” she said.

The council also surveys the total research effort in the subject field and recommends actions necessary to stimulate additional work.

The term runs now through Nov. 30, 2023.

Dr. Kowluru’s lab researches the understanding the molecular mechanism of diabetic retinopathy and the metabolic memory associated with its continued progression, focusing on the mitochondrial damage and the role of epigenetics in the pathogenesis of this blinding disease. She is the course coordinator for the clinical and basic science course in Ophthalmology-Bench to Bedside as well as a course co-coordinator of Biology of the Eye. She co-directs a course on Diabetic Retinopathy during annual meetings of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Her research is supported by the Thomas Foundation and three R01 grants from the National Eye Institute.