Centre For Eye Research Australia

On this episode of More Than Meets The Eye, Dr Stuart Keel, Research Fellow at CERA, speaks to CERA's Community Engagement Office, Steve Hurd, about how artificial intelligence technology can help tackle the prevalence of diabetic eye disease in Australia.

Learn about the latest advances in stem cell research, the hope for the science and the cautions of this ever advancing field at the Centre for Eye Research Australia 2018 Stem Cells Community Information Forum. Hosted at the Royal Australian College of Surgeons by Dr Damian Hernandez, with guest speakers Dr Grace Lidgerwood, Ms Sandra Staffieri and Associate Professor Megan Munsie.

Australian eye bankers have helped develop the world's first global Agreement on the ethical use of human eye tissue - The Barcelona Principles. We speak to Dr Graeme Pollock OAM and Heather Machin, from the Lions Eye Donation Service at CERA, about the importance of eye tissue donation and what the recently released 'Barcelona Principles' means for Australians and the global community when dealing with organ and tissue donation.

Imagine losing the ability to read, drive or recognise faces. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness and major vision loss in Australia and there is currently no cure. Hear how the Macular Research team at the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) is working on a wide range of projects to improve diagnosis and treatment for AMD and to progress towards a cure. Topics covered: “An update on the bionic eye” Kiera Young, Bionic Eye Research Assistant, CERA “A simple way to see abnormal blood vessels in AMD” Callum Narita, BmedSc(Hons) student, Monash University “New vision tests to enable early interventions in AMD” Dr Zhichao Wu, Research Fellow, CERA “Geographic atrophy in a clinical trial environment” Thuy Chau, Senior Study Coordinator, CERA Q&A panel discussion With the speakers about their presentations or broader AMD research

Professor Jonathan Crowston, Head, Glaucoma Research and Managing Director, Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) talks about glaucoma and current research at CERA for World Glaucoma Week.

Big Data is one of the latest science buzzwords, but what does it mean for health, vision and ophthalmology? What kind of collaborations could there be between astrophysicists and vision science researchers? On 21 July researchers from the Centre for Eye Research Australia and Swinburne University spent the morning discussing the importance of big data and super computing power in their research The following is an interview with Professor Matthew Bailes, an astrophysicist at the University's Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, and the Director of OzGrav, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery.

Being able to restore sight once it has been lost is an age-old dream of human kind. It seemed impossible until the discovery of stem cells. What are stem cells, and why are they so important and what does stem cell science mean for eye disease? Come and learn about stem cells and understand the science behind them. All are welcome at our community events, aimed at a general audience. We appreciate your gold coin donation to help cover the cost of running our information forums. Topics to covered: Using stem cells to understand blinding eye diseases Dr Duncan Crombie, Research Fellow, Neuroregeneration, CERA Saving vision using stem cells and ‘Cut and Paste’ technology Lisa Kearns, Orthoptist, Clinical Genetics, CERA Understanding the role of your immune system: pitfalls and opportunities for cell therapy Dr Matthew Rutar, Research Fellow, Centre for Stem Cell Systems, University of Melbourne Hype, hope and reality in stem cell therapy Associate Professor Megan Munsie, Deputy Director, Centre for Stem Ce

A major risk of permanent vision loss with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is when a sudden worsening, due to bleeding occurs and goes undetected. Principal Investigator Professor Robyn Guymer, together with Dr. George Kong and Professor Algis Vingrys (Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, University of Melbourne) have devised a new approach to mitigate this problem using an app designed for the iPad. “When someone is diagnosed with the early stages of AMD they generally monitor their vision looking for a sudden change in what they see with a paper chart called an Amsler grid, which they usually stick on their fridge,” Professor Guymer said. The sad fact is people don’t test their vision with the paper test properly nor do the test often enough. Additionally they often take no action even if they notice a change. “We want the app not only to detect changes in eye health in the home but also to alert both them, and us, about any deterioration.” The app has the potential to send reminders to p