Retina Australia is delighted to welcome Dr Eden Robertson to present on the Vision Loss Priority Setting Partnership, and Vivienne Kaiser to provide an introduction to Stem Cell and Gene Therapies on Saturday 28 October 2023 at 2pm.
Vision Loss Priority Setting Partnership
Presenter: Dr Eden Robertson, University of NSW, Sydney
It is important that research about Inherited Retinal Diseases is guided by what matters most to those who will be impacted by it. That is why researchers from UNSW Sydney and the Children’s Medical Research Institute are undertaking a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership to identify the top 10 research priorities for Inherited Retinal Diseases. This project is guided by a steering committee that includes individuals with lived experience of an Inherited Retinal Disease, patient advocacy groups like Retina Australia, health professionals and researchers.
In this webinar, Dr Eden Robertson will present on their Vision Loss Priority Setting Partnership, and the process they will undertake to arrive at the top 10 research priorities for Inherited Retinal Diseases.
They will present the importance of engaging with individuals with lived experience, challenges in doing so, and the ultimate benefit of Priority Setting Partnership in driving drive the future research. It is important that research about Inherited Retinal Diseases is guided by what matters most to those who will be impacted by it.
An introduction to Stem Cell & Gene Therapies
Presenter: Vivienne Kaiser, PhD student, Children’s Medical Research Institute, Sydney
The Stem Cell Medicine group at the Children’s Medical Research Institute uses stem cell technology and organoids to further our understanding of inherited retinal diseases and to develop gene and cell therapies.
In this webinar Vivienne Kaiser, a brilliant PhD student in the group, will introduce how induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are directly reprogrammed from patient blood cells are generated in the lab. She will then explain how organoids, specifically retinal organoids, are produced in the lab. These mini-retinas contain functional photoreceptors – the light-sensing cells of the eye, providing an ideal model to test gene therapies. The majority of inherited retinal diseases arise from mutations in a single gene. By delivering a healthy gene using a safe virus, the team hope to provide a cure for these diseases.
Vivienne will also touch on her own project, which focuses on a debilitating disease called Usher Syndrome. Another therapeutic option is cell therapy by transplantation of photoreceptor cells, which we have demonstrated to be effective in rescuing light perception.
Past Webinars
October 2024
Cell therapy, genetic research and a patient’s perspective
May 2024
Research Update Event – Geographic atrophy and AMD
October 2023
Vision Loss Priority Setting Partnership and an Introduction to Stem Cell & Gene Therapies