§ Mr. ShersbyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list in theOfficial Report in tabular form details of all scientific research being carried out with support from public funds into retinitis pigmentosa, giving for each project (i) its name, (ii) the name of the research worker concerned, (iii) the location, (iv) the amount being spent, (v) the duration and (vi) its expected completion date.
Mr. Jackson[holding answer 4 July 1988]: The Medical Research Council (MRC), which receives a grant-in-aid from this Department, is the main agency through which 4W the Government fund medical research in the United Kingdom. I understand that the MRC provided support for the following projects during 1987–88:
1. Project title: DNA sequence markers in single gene disorders (retinitis pigmentosum, chromosome x-linked mental retardation, etc.) Investigator: Professor H. J. Evans (Unit Director) Location: MRC Clinical and Population Cytogenetics Unit Duration: Commenced 1 April 1983 and ongoing 2. Project title: Characterisation of antiretinal autoimmunity in retinal vasculitis Investigator: Professor D. C. Dumonde Location: Guy's and St. Thomas's Medical School, London Duration: 1 March 1984 to 28 February 1987 3. Project title: The physicochemical basis of light reception in vertebrates Investigator: Professor Sir Alan Hodgkin Location: Physiological Laboratory, Cambridge University Duration: 1 October 1984 to 30 September 1987 4. Project title: Dark-adaptation and light-adaptation of rod photoreceptors Investigator: Dr. T. D. Lamb Location: Physiological Laboratory, Cambridge University Duration: 1 October 1984 to 30 September 1987 5. Project title: Phototransduction in vertebrate rods and cones Investigator: Dr. D. I. Attwell Location: Department of Physiology, University College London, London Duration: 1 October 1984 to 30 September 1987 6. Project title: Receptoral and post-receptoral processes in colour vision Investigator: Dr. J. D. Mollon Location: Department of Experimental Psychology, Cambridge University Duration: 4 February 1984 to 30 June 1988 7. Project title: Molecular structure of the membrane-cytoskeleton network and of rhodopsin and squid photoreceptor microvilli Investigator: Dr. Helen R. Saibil Location: Department of Zoology, Oxford University Duration: 1 July 1985 to 30 June 1988 8. Project title: Clinical and functional studies of different genetic forms of retinitis pigmentosa Investigator: Professor A. C. Bird Location: Department of Clinical Ophthalmology, Institute of Ophthalmology, London Duration: 1 May 1985 to 30 April 1988 9. Project title: Synthesis and sorting of glycosaminoglycans in the retina; cone cells and interphotoreceptor matrix Investigator: Dr. Carolyn A. Converse Location: Department of Pharmacy, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow Duration: 14 June 1986 to 13 June 1987 10. Project title: Temporal visual processing in amblyopia Investigator: Dr. R. F. Hess Location: Physiological Laboratory, Cambridge University Duration: October 1988 to September 1989 These projects are not exclusively directed to research on retinitis pigmentosa. For example, the first project listed, at the MRC clinical and population cytogenetics unit, includes research on a range of single gene disorders. The council's estimate of total expenditure on research directly related to retinitis pigmentosa in 1987–88 is £134,000.
5WSome support for research on retinitis pigmentosa is also provided by this Department through UGC block grants to universities and medical schools.