Jun 3, 2025

Dr. Baohua Liu: Shining a Light on the Visual Cortex

At the University of Toronto, Mississauga, Dr. Baohua Liu is charting new territory in our quest to understand blindness. He has set out to understand if the brain can rewire itself to see once vision has been lost—both in the short- and long-term.

As one of Fighting Blindness Canada’s 2024 Research Grant Awardees, Dr. Liu is leading an ambitious project focused on congenital stationary night blindness type 2A (CSNB2A)—a rare inherited retinal disease that causes night blindness and other vision challenges from birth.

But Dr. Liu’s work goes far beyond treating symptoms. His groundbreaking study explores whether gene therapy can restore vision—both shortly after vision loss and long after it has set in. Using an animal model, his team is testing a targeted gene therapy designed to reactivate the light-processing cells in the retina. The hope: to bring sight back to those who’ve lost it.

What makes this research especially exciting is its dual focus. While aiming to restore sight, Dr. Liu, who received a $200K award from FBC in 2024, is also investigating how the brain’s visual cortex—the area responsible for interpreting light signals—responds after long-term vision loss. Can the brain re-learn to see after years in the dark? Can it adapt and rewire itself when the eyes are given a second chance?

If successful, Dr. Liu’s research could reshape how scientists approach treatment for not just CSNB2A, but a wide spectrum of inherited retinal diseases. His work opens a door to new possibilities—where vision can be more than preserved; it can be reclaimed.

This is more than a scientific experiment. It’s a step toward hope for the 1.2 million Canadians living with vision loss—and a future where sight may one day be restored.

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