This content was recorded during a Retina UK webinar on Thursday 9 December 2021. You can watch the full version, which includes slides, on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/pLDzECeFrJc

Dr Rehman has been involved in running recent clinical trials for inherited sight loss treatments and will give us a general overview of the clinical trials process and practicalities, including issues to consider if you are given the opportunity to take part. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions.

Before moving to Oxford to further her experience in research and ophthalmology, Salwah worked as a junior doctor in Greater Manchester at The Royal Bolton Hospital. She is currently working on the ongoing gene therapy trials for choroideremia and RPGR X-linked retinitis pigmentosa under the supervision of Professor Robert MacLaren.

Salwah completed her medical studies from the University of Liverpool. There, her interest in research started early and she also received her Master of Research in Clinical Sciences (MRes) degree with distinction. During her master’s degree she undertook a research project with Professor Colin Willoughby at St Paul’s Eye Unit in The Royal Liverpool University Hospital, evaluating corneal biomechanics and biomechanically corrected intraocular pressure, which has won the North of England Ophthalmology Society summer meeting Best Poster award in 2018. Her work exploring transportation efficacy and clinical outcomes of preloaded keratoplasty grafts for corneal transplantation also won a Best Poster award at the Liverpool National Student Research conference and was published in Cornea in 2019.

The latest e-Newsletter from Retina UK.

Donate now and your gift will be doubled! The Big Give Christmas Challenge is underway. Make your donation to medical research as soon as possible and it will be DOUBLED at no additional cost to you: https://donate.thebiggive.org.uk/campaign/a056900001txvAyAAI

This is the audio edition of the Retina UK Newsletter, Look Forward - Winter 2021 (Issue 175). You can download a copy in PDF and Word format on the Retina UK website: www.RetinaUK.org.uk/publications.

This content was recorded during a Retina UK webinar on Wednesday 27 October 2021. You can watch the full version, which includes slides, on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/1DYvRgjwd8A

Michael Gilhooley is a clinical lecturer in the department of Genetics, Institute of Ophthalmology University College London and Moorfields Eye Hospital. His research interests include the development of novel therapies for inherited retinal degenerations (optogenetics) and inherited optic neuropathies. 

This session introduced the technique of optogenetics and its potential for development into a treatment for IRDs. Optogenetics is the process of expressing light sensitive proteins in cells, such as these surviving cells in the retina, to allow them to react to light independently. It has recently been used for the first time to return some vision to a patient with IRD in Paris as reported in the BBC News.

A PDF copy of this recording is available at: https://retinauk.org.uk/information-support/publications/.

Speakers include:

Presentations will cover:

The focus of our Wales information evening is specific to that part of the United Kingdom. Please remember that the process for referrals etc. may not be exactly the same in your home region.

This online information evening was recorded on Wednesday 29 September 2021. The speakers do reference slides. They are available on the YouTube recording of this webinar if required: https://youtu.be/7KptxsuXdUU. 

Speakers include: 

Presentations covered:  

This webinar features Elena Piotter and was recorded on Tuesday 24 August 2021. Elena does reference slides in her presentation. They are available on the YouTube recording of this webinar if required: https://youtu.be/lQ6SEK-wLZs..

Elena Piotter, a PhD student working in Robert MacLaren's group in the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford, is currently researching DNA and RNA base editing tools aiming to correct pathogenic mutations in ABCA4. Her focuses on gene therapy, CRISPR technology including DNA and RNA base editing, and why this is relevant for Stargardt disease. She is excited to have this research funded by Retina UK and recently ran an UltraChallenge 25km to raise money and show support for Retina UK.

There are a number of webinars and online information evenings being held by Retina UK in the autumn of 2021. For more information, visit: https://retinauk.org.uk/info-events.

This webinar features Roly Megaw and was recorded on Thursday 23 September 2021. Roly does reference slides in his presentation but the content is easy to follow without the slides.

Roly Megaw is a clinician scientist. He is a Wellcome Trust funded clinical lecturer at the MRC Human Genetics Unit at the University of Edinburgh and a consultant ophthalmologist in NHS Lothian. Roly undertook his PhD with Charles ffrench-Constant at the Scottish Centre for Regenerative medicine, using induced pluripotent stem cells to model x-linked retinitis pigmentosa, prior to undertaking his clinical fellowship with Graeme Black in Manchester.

The webinar is also available on the Retina UK YouTube channel where it includes the slides: https://youtu.be/msbH6QseSBk.

There are a number of webinars and online information evenings being held by Retina UK in the autumn of 2021. For more information, visit: https://retinauk.org.uk/info-events.