Congratulations to Bikash Pattnaik, PhD, for his award of $39,000 from the Meriter Foundation for his project, “Oxytocinergic signaling in the eye: its contribution to Retinopathy of Prematurity.” Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) that occurs in premature infants is likely a consequence of abnormal development of the Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE). The goal of this proposal is to understand how maternal hormones like oxytocin, those premature babies are deprived off, regulate RPE development.