Scarring, arising as a natural reaction to surgery performed to improve an underlying ophthalmic problem such as glaucoma, can cause significant
impairment of vision. Our site has one of the strongest track records in the world in the fields of preventing ocular scarring, promoting cell regeneration
and developing novel medicines. The overarching aim of this research theme is to accelerate the availability and range of innovative cellular and molecular
therapies which meet many unmet needs in ophthalmology and in the human body.
Objectives
- to develop novel stem cell therapies to prevent blindness and/or restore vision caused by AMD, ocular surface disease, glaucoma and diabetes.
- to develop novel therapies to prevent scarring and promote healthy cell regeneration for diseases and traumas that affect the front and back of the eye.
- to develop novel delivery mechanisms (eg. tablet, injection or other methods) to prevent the formation of malign cells and inflammation that causes irreversible damage.
The aim is to develop gene therapy as a
treatment for a range of eye diseases, including rare (currently untreatable) forms of inherited diseases as well as common eye disorders (AMD and diabetic retinopathy)
that cause haemorrhaging and fluid leakage and irreversible damage to the overlying retina. Gene therapy offers the prospect of local treatment with reduced risk of
systemic side effects.
Objectives
- to develop a gene therapy product to the point where it can be used to routinely treat a rare inherited eye disease that starts in childhood (eg. Leber’s congenital amaurosis type 2).
- to initiate gene therapy trials for a wide range of inherited retinal degenerations that start in childhood.
- to initiate a clinical trial for haemorrhaging (or neovascularisation) associated with AMD.
- to initiate gene therapy clinical trials for the treatment of uveitis and the prevention of corneal transplant rejection.
This theme provides enabling technologies to all other themes to help with early
diagnosis of disease, assessing rate of disease progression, targeting treatments to patients, assessing the effectiveness of treatments and measuring the impact of
low vision on everyday tasks.
Objectives
- to develop better imaging techniques and tailor them to specific problems.
- to develop new visual function tests that provide more accurate and precise measurements.
- to measure the impact of visual loss on daily activities and apply this knowledge in new ways to help patients make best use of the vision they have.
The main aim of this theme is
to further develop a research infrastructure to maximize involvement of our patients in clinical trials of new therapies. The focus will be on genetic
variants that predispose people to common eye disorders such as glaucoma and myopia so that we can identify gene targets for new therapies.
Objectives
- to develop an effective electronic patient record for tracking treatment history, genetic testing, functional assessment results and imaging. This will serve as a hospital-wide diagnostic database.
- to develop a large, detailed set of information about patients who can be quickly invited to join appropriate clinical trials.
- to develop methods for evaluating visual function and structure that can detect more quickly the effect of novel treatments administered in trials
- to identify more quickly the genetic variants that predispose people to common eye disorders such as glaucoma and myopia so that new therapies can be developed.
The aim of this theme is to transform diagnosis and therapy for eye disease by
building next-generation devices through the exploitation of recent and ongoing advances in optics, laser and other technologies.
Objectives
- to explore the potential of using laser systems to treat or prevent AMD, diabetic macular oedema and Sorsby’s fundus dystrophy.
- to develop new technologies to probe retinal changes in early AMD.
- to lead in the evaluation and design iteration of retinal microchip implants (the “bionic eye” technology).
- to assess the efficacy of diverse technologies in minimising the damaging effects of surgery at the front of the eye (corneal damage and glaucoma).
- to develop new technologies to help prevent complications following cataract surgery, particularly in children.
- to facilitate the development of novel and improved surgical instruments.
Inflammation is increasingly understood to
underpin tissue damage in the eye. Uveitis, ocular surfaces diseases and corneal graft rejection are obvious areas where inflammation causes problems but
it is also central to the progression of AMD and diabetic retinopathy.
Objectives
- to lead the first gene therapy trial for the treatment of sight-threatening uveitis, alongside a portfolio of early-phase trials of novel therapies associated with inflammation in AMD, uveitis and ocular surface diseases.
- to develop novel imaging techniques to aid the diagnosis and treatment of early immune reactions in AMD, diabetic retinopathy, uveitis and ocular surface diseases.
- to conduct proof-of-concept studies to predict disease prognosis in AMD, ocular surface diseases and uveitis and to tailor therapies to suit particular expressions of disease.