Vision Seminar Series

Terri L. Young, MD, MBA, Peter A. Duehr Endowed Professor of Ophthalmology, Pediatrics, and Medical Genetics
Chair, University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Genetics

Isha Ingle, MD, from the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School 

Dr. Claudio Punzo, PhD, from the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School spoke about the role photoreceptors play in Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). Dr. Punzo found metabolic adaptations in photoreceptor cells of human AMD patients. To understand what these adaptations do, he created a mouse model that mimics these changes. The mice develop AMD-like pathologies similar to the ones seen in humans. To further study the underlying disease mechanism Dr. Punzo used his mouse model to identify how disease can be prevented in his mouse model. He found a gene that when downregulated prevents disease progression. To test if this is a potential therapeutic candidate Dr. Punzo developed a siRNA approach for the gene and treated aged rhesus macaques that had drusen. He found that drusen number and size was reduced suggesting that the right mechanism has been identified. This new therapy could help prevent disease progression in patients with AMD.

Dr. Brian Hafler, MD/PhD from the ophthalmology department at Yale University spoke about the role of inflammation in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Dr. Hafler identified two types of microglia, one being beneficial helping during the early disease stages of AMD with the clearance of cellular debris, and one causing being harmful during the late stages of the disease. By compare genetic expression profile of these two microglia groups he believe that we could harness the positive aspects of the beneficial microglia to alter disease progression in AMD. If successful this research has the potential to have a significant impact in the treatment of AMD.

Dr. Lew is a postdoc research fellow at Schepens Eye Research Institute, Mass Eye and Ear. He received his PhD from the University of Houston College of Optometry, Texas. Before graduate school, he obtained his optometry degree from Malaysia and a Pediatric Optometry Fellowship from India. His research interests centered on depth perception, pediatric, and low vision. His current work with Dr. Eli Peli focuses on developing field expansion devices for patients with monocular vision

The 2024-2025 Seminar Series includes speakers from across the entire United States as well as local speakers with a focus on inherited as well as acquired retinal diseases and their therapeutic approaches including gene therapy.

Uveitis is a condition characterized by intraocular inflammation which can lead to blindness if left untreated; in the US alone, uveitis indeed accounts for ~10% of blindness cases. Importantly, both uveitis and its treatment (typically corticosteroids) can lead to elevated intraocular pressure, which may progress to glaucoma and/or vision loss. It follows that better treatments for uveitis are needed.

UMass Ophthalmology Presents 6 Talks from ARVO 2024

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly in developed nations, representing a significant socioeconomic burden. Even though its multifactorial nature is well recognized, the pathogenesis of AMD is not fully understood.

My lab has pioneered the use of magnetic actuators for reanimation of paralyzed ocular structures including eyelids and extra-ocular muscles.  Greatest success has been achieved with simple neodymium magnet systems which do not require a power source, produce forces similar to MRI, and are resistant to demagnetization.  

Andrew W. Taylor, PhD, FARVO, Associate Dean for Research, Professor and Vice-Chair for Research, Ophthalmology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedesian School of Medicine

Dr. Taylor is currently the Associate Dean for Research, Professor and Vice-Chair for Research in the Department of Ophthalmology at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedesian School of Medicine. Dr. Taylor received his PhD from The Ohio State University in microbiology and completed a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. J. Wayne Streilein, MD, at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Then joined the Schepens Eye Research Institute and the Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School. In 2010 joined the faculty of the Department of Ophthalmology at Boston University. The focus of Dr. Taylor’s talk will be on the mechanisms of ocular immune privilege and immunosuppression, and the application of these mechanisms in the treatment of ocular diseases.

Meredith Gregory-Ksander, PhD, Assistant Scientist, The Schepens Eye Research Institute, and Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School.  Dr. Gregory-Ksander received her Ph.D. in Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy from Loyola University of Chicago in 1999.  Dr. Gregory-Ksander joined the faculty at Schepens Eye Research Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School in 2004

Ron Adelman, MD, MPH, MBA, FARVO, Professor and Vice Chair, and Director of the Retina Center, at the ophthalmology department at Yale School of Medicine presented a multifaceted seminar that spanned 3 topics including retinal embolism, age-related macular degeneration and efforts made through an international collaborative study to analyze clinical data generated by clinician as a proxy for a clinical trial.

The 2023-2024 Seminar Series includes speakers from across the entire United States as well as local speakers with a focus on inherited as well as acquired retinal diseases and their therapeutic approaches including gene therapy.

Guangping Gao, PhD, Professor of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, Penelope Booth Rockwell Professor in Biomedical Research, Director of Li Weibo Institute of Rare Disease Research, Horare Gene Therapy Center a & Vector Core, UMass Chan Medical School.

Students, Post-docs and Faculties of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at UMass presented the research that was presented during the Annual ARVO meeting in New Orleanes. 

Dr. Lucia Sobrin, Charles Edward Professor of Ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary of Harvard Medical School spoke about “Tackling the Challenges in Diagnosis and Treatment of Autoimmune Retinopathy”.

Nisha Acharya, MD, MS, Director, Uveitis and Ocular Inflammatory Disease Service, Elizabeth C. Proctor Distinguished Professor, Departments of Ophthalmology, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Associate Director, F.I. Proctor Foundation, University of California, San Francisco. 

Dan Yoon, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences UMass Chan Medical School

Claudio Punzo, PhD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Vice Chair of Research, Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, UMass Chan Medical School

Juan Ding, OD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and James Ledwith, MD, FAAFP, Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health

Alessandro Iannaccone, MD, MS, FARVO, Professor of Ophthalmology Director, Center for Retinal Degenerations and Ophthalmic Genetics Diseases Director, Duke Visual Function Diagnostic Laboratory Program Director, Duke Fellowship in Retinal Degenerations and Ophthalmic Genetics Co-Medical Director, Retina Module, Duke Eye Center Clinical Research Unit

Paul S. Bernstein, MD, PhD, Val A. and Edith D. Green Presidential Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Vice-Chair for Clinical and Basic Science Research Moran Eye Center, University of Utah School of Medicine.

The 2022-2023 Seminar Series includes speakers from across the entire United States as well as local speakers with a focus on inherited as well as acquired retinal diseases and their therapeutic approaches including gene therapy.

Emma Wood, Evan Bilsbury, Sean Doherty, Moradi Mousa, Tianxiao Huan, PhD

Johanna Seddon, MD, ScM, Department of Ophthalm ology & Visual Sciences

University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School.

Johanna M. Seddon, MD, ScM, Professor of Ophthalmology, UMass Chan Medical School Director of Retina, Director of Macular Degeneration Center of Excellence Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

Darren J. Lee, PhD Assistant Professor, Departments of Ophthalmology, Microbiology and Immunology, Division of Vision Research, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Dean McGee Eye Institute, Oklahoma City, OK

Martin-Paul Agbaga, PhD Assistant Professor, Director of Lipidomics Core Facility University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Departments of Ophthalmology and Cell Biology Dean McGee Eye Institute, Oklahoma City, OK

William Spencer, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University

Timothy W. Corson, PhD Merrill Grayson Senior Associate Professor Vice-Chair for Basic and Translational Research Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine

Ashok Kumar, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences Wayne State University School of Medicine, Kresge Eye. Institute