Our Center for Translational Vision Research (CTVR) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) serves as an international leader in advancing multidisciplinary research and bringing together exceptional scientific expertise to advance collaborations that enable breakthrough discoveries in vision research with translational potential. In the laboratory of Dr. Krzysztof Palczewski, we are focused on understanding the fundamental processes underlying vision in rod and cone photoreceptors of the retina and creating novel pharmacological treatments for the most common causes of blindness. We study visual phototransduction, chromophore recycling (visual cycle), and three-dimensional structures of proteins involved in vision, and we employ a systems pharmacology platform for therapeutic development that leverages state-of-the-art disease modeling and systematic characterization by large-scale bioinformatics. This has led to the discovery of a novel class of small molecules that may treat or prevent inherited retinal diseases as well as age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in the elderly. In a new frontier, we are also advancing the therapeutic potential of genome editing in the treatment of various inherited retinal disorders. Overall, we aim to integrate basic and translational research through a combination of approaches in molecular and structural biology, chemistry, genetics, and pharmacology, to develop innovative and accessible therapies that preserve visual function for the millions of patients afflicted by progressive, incurable blinding diseases.