Retina

Gene Therapy Platform Developed by Neena Haider, PhD, Granted FDA Orphan Drug Designation

February 27, 2019
OCU400, a novel gene therapy platform developed by Neena Haider, PhD, Harvard Medical School Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Associate Scientist at the Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass. Eye and Ear, and licensed to biopharmaceutical company Ocugen, Inc., has been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).... Read more about Gene Therapy Platform Developed by Neena Haider, PhD, Granted FDA Orphan Drug Designation
Dr. Jason Comander

Mass. Eye and Ear performs first FDA-approved gene therapy procedure for inherited disease

March 20, 2018

Boston, Mass. — Massachusetts Eye and Ear made medical history on Tuesday by performing the first post-FDA approval gene therapy for patients with a form of inherited blindness. The occasion marks the beginning of a new era in medicine, as it is the first time any FDA-approved gene therapy has been given to a patient for any inherited disease.

The treatment, commercially identified as Luxturna, was developed by Spark Therapeutics and ...

Read more about Mass. Eye and Ear performs first FDA-approved gene therapy procedure for inherited disease

Trainees receive research awards and fellowship from VitreoRetinal Surgery Foundation

December 29, 2017

The VitreoRetinal Surgery Foundation recognized four trainees with research awards and fellowships, enabling them to pursue research investigations at Mass. Eye and Ear and Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass. Eye and Ear. The VitreoRetinal Surgery Foundation (VRSF) strives to promote education and research related to retinal and macular diseases. They support research by funding awards for young investigators with a potential for a career devoted to retinal disease and research.  The VRSF has established a competitive Research Award/Fellowship to encourage young physicians to...

Read more about Trainees receive research awards and fellowship from VitreoRetinal Surgery Foundation
Santiago Tirado headshot

Santiago Delgado-Tirado receives Alfonso Martin Escudero Foundation Fellowship

October 31, 2017

Santiago Delgado-Tirado, MD, MSc, a research fellow under the mentorship ofJoseph Arboleda-Velasquez, MD, PhD, and Leo Kim, MD, PhD, received the Alfonso Martin Escudero Foundation Fellowship. This fellowship, which is in the amount of $88,500 over two years beginning in January 2018, was given for his project, "Runx1...

Read more about Santiago Delgado-Tirado receives Alfonso Martin Escudero Foundation Fellowship
james stefater headshot

Dr. Stefater receives vitreoretinal scholarship

October 2, 2017

James “Tony” Stefater, MD, PhD, a vitreoretinal fellow at Mass. Eye and Ear, received the 2017 Vitreoretinal Research Scholarship from the Robert Machemer Foundation in the amount of $20,000 over one year. His winning project, “Development of a novel post-operative intraocular retinal tamponade agent,” focuses on developing a better post-operative retinal tamponade agent that will improve clinical outcomes and eliminate the post-operative...

Read more about Dr. Stefater receives vitreoretinal scholarship
Genome editing with CRISPR-Cas9 prevents angiogenesis of the retina

Genome editing with CRISPR-Cas9 prevents angiogenesis of the retina

July 27, 2017

Powerful new technology may lead to novel therapies to prevent vision loss, blindness in those with diseases of the retina

Boston, Mass. — A research team from the Schepens Eye Research Institute of Massachusetts Eye and Ear has successfully prevented mice from developing angiogenesis of the retina—the sensory tissue at the back of the eye—using gene-editing techniques with CRISPR-Cas9. Angiogenesis causes vision loss and blindness and is a feature of several degenerative eye conditions, including proliferative diabetic...

Read more about Genome editing with CRISPR-Cas9 prevents angiogenesis of the retina