Dr. Leveillard identified the truncated thioredoxin-like protein Rod-derived Cone Viability Factor (RdCVF},a rod-secreted protein encoded by the nucleoredoxin-like 1 (NXNL1} gene whose depletion in retinitis pigmentosa leads to cone cell death. His group elucidates the mechanism of action of RdCVF and demonstrated that RdCVF participates in a novel metabolic and redox signaling involving RdCVF and the thioredoxin RdCVFL,the second product of the NXNL1 gene. NXNL1 is a possible treatment for retinitis pigmentosa independent of causative mutations.