EyeTherapy
Newsletter
The Gene and Cell Therapy
Group, UCL Institute of
Ophthalmology
Summer 2014
Welcome to this special edition of the EyeTherapy newsletter,
covering the latest updates form the Gene and Cell Therapy
Group, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology.
In this issue we take a look at our recent and successful public
engagement day for Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
and announce the launch of our online AMD Day resource centre.
AMD Day
Saturday 5 July 2014
QEIICC, Westminster, London
Sponsored and supported by:
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A look at world-leading research into AMD
On Saturday 5 July 2014 the Gene and Cell Therapy group,
UCL Institute of Ophthalmology held a free one-day event
where people with AMD, friends and family members could
speak with clinicians and researchers at UCL and Moorfields
Eye Hospital. There were discussions about the progress
being made in understanding AMD and in the development of
devices and potential gene and cell therapies to better
manage and perhaps one day improve treatment for this
severe condition.
The day consisted of a number of presentations from leading
researchers and clinicians and also provided an opportunity to
speak with researchers on key topics relating to AMD and our
clinical research programme.
People were invited to share their experiences of living with
AMD with one another and with the organisations who support
our research and support people with AMD and other blinding
conditions, including the Macular Society, Moorfields Eye
Charity and Fight for Sight.
AMD Day was made possible through funding from the NIHR
Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre who support the
application of new laboratory research to clinical and surgical
practice for patients, by a grant from the Wellcome Trust who
fund extraordinary research to improve human health and the
Macular Society, the largest supporter of people with macular
disease in the UK.
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A virtual AMD Day is now available!
We were delighted to hear from so many attendees how
much they enjoyed the day - people we asked said:
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AMD day was on par or better then other research
open days they had attended
97% of people asked said the day met or exceeded
their expectations
67% of people said the day had increased their
knowledge around AMD
99% of people asked said they would come back to
another one of our events
We have now made the content from AMD Day available on
our website at:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioo/genetics/gene-and-celltherapy/amd-day-2014
A summary of the content from the website can be found on
the next pages. This content is best viewed online.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide a printed version of all
of the content from the day but if if you do require anything
from AMD Day in a different format please contact us on
eye.info@UCL.ac.uk or +44 (0) 20 7608 7982 and we will
assist where we can.
We hope you will enjoy this new resource and we welcome
your feedback - best wishes the EyeTherapy Team.
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What’s available at AMD Day online? (i)
Background
● An overview of AMD and our research in the field
The Eye
● Navigate the complex structure of the eye with this
handy labelled diagram
Photos
● See what everyone got up to at AMD Day
Posters
● Take a tour of our high contrast research posters from
AMD Day covering the topics of:
q AMD and the Macular
q Current & Bogus Treatments for AMD
q Gene Therapy
q Cell Transplantation and Stem Cell Research
q Understanding Clinical Trials
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
● We reply to the key questions submitted by attendees
Through Your Eyes
● Sharing experiences of vision with AMD, through art
Evaluation
● Find out who came to AMD Day and what they thought!
Voices for Vision - Diary Room (still in development)
● Come back soon to hear people with macular
degeneration share their experiences
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What’s available at AMD Day online? (ii)
Presentations
● Professor James Bainbridge, UCL & Moorfields
q Welcome and Introductions
● Mr Adnan Tufail, Moorfields
q Talks about what wet and dry AMD are, what you
can expect to happen and what can currently be
done to help
● Professor Robin Ali, UCL
q Explains why we need research into AMD
● Mr Tony Rucinski, CEO of the Macular Society
q Outlines how the Macular Society support
research into macular degeneration
● Professor Gary Rubin, UCL
q Discusses how devices can help people with low
vision
● Dr Ulrich Luhmann, UCL
q Examines future alternatives to injections for wet
AMD
● Dr David Shima, Roche & UCL
q Reviews research approaches for dry AMD
● Professor James Bainbridge, UCL & Moorfields
q Comments on stem cell research for AMD
● Professor James Bainbridge, UCL & Moorfields
q Closes proceedings, highlighting the ways in
which the public can get involved with research
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Get involved!
Stay up-to-date with our research and contact us:
Website:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioo/genetics/gene-and-cell-therapy
Blog: http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/eyetherapy
Email: eye.info@ucl.ac.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Eye_Therapy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UCLeyetherapy
YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/user/ucleyetherapy
Future EyeTherapy newsletters
We hope you have enjoyed this edition of our newsletter.
You have received this newsletter because you registered
interest in attending AMD day, you have previously expressed
an interest in our AMD research or have signed up to our
newsletter.
You will only receive future newsletters from us if you sign up
to our newsletter at:
http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/eyetherapy/research-bulletin-recentadvances-in-eye-therapy
Future events in 2015
We will be holding a series of events for inherited retinal
disease in 2015. When available, further details of how to
register will be posted on our website (above) and on
http://www.brcophthalmology.org/Events/Default.aspx