Chad Jackson, Ph.D., is the Senior Director of the Preclinical Translational Research Program at the Foundation Fighting Blindness (the Foundation). Dr. Jackson will manage reporting and strategic planning for ARPA-H’s Transplantation of Human Eye Allografts program on behalf of the Foundation, a subawardee of the program. Dr. Jackson has more than 20 years of research and development experience in biomedical sciences and is a champion for international science engagement, innovation ecosystem development, and entrepreneurship as a means to solving the world's most challenging problems. Prior to joining the Foundation, Dr. Jackson supported the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Biological Technologies Office covering topics that span infectious disease, synthetic biology, and human performance. He currently serves as the chair of the board for Seeding Labs and is an Earlham College board trustee member. Dr. Jackson received his Ph.D. in Molecular & Systems Pharmacology from Emory University and a B.A. in biochemistry from Earlham College.
The technologies and techniques developed for eye transplantation and nerve regeneration may have significant translational potential for other biomedical needs including: spinal cord injury, central nervous system regeneration, retinal cell and tissue transplantation, and other forms of organ and tissue transplantation.