AEVR Announces March 2013 Congressional Luncheon Briefings on Two Important Topics in Vision Research

AEVR Announces March 2013 Congressional Luncheon Briefings
On Two Important Topics in Vision Research

Thursday, March 7, 2013
Glaucoma Imaging: Fighting a Leading Cause of Blindness
Recognizing World Glaucoma Week 2013
12 Noon – 1:15 pm, House Rayburn 2168 (The Gold Room)

Glaucoma, a progressive disease of the optic nerve that robs individuals of both peripheral and central vision, is the second leading cause of preventable vision loss in the United States, afflicting 2.2 million Americans, more than half of which are unaware that they have it. The National Eye Institute (NEI) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that glaucoma, which disproportionately affects underserved minority populations, is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in African-Americans and Hispanics. Gadi Wollstein, M.D. will describe the nature of glaucoma as a complex neurodegenerative disease and report on the latest research into glaucoma detection and identification of disease progression, for example, how structural changes detected by advanced imaging, such as Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), are associated with changes in vision.

Gadi Wollstein, M.D. is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh and Director of the Ophthalmic Imaging Research Laboratories. He will conduct real-time imaging of the eye using OCT, courtesy of Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Deployment-Related Vision Research: A Computational Model of the Eye for
Primary Blast Trauma
12 Noon – 1:15 pm, House Rayburn 2168 (The Gold Room)

Traumatic eye injury from penetrating wounds and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)-related visual disorders ranks second only to hearing loss as the most common injury among active military and has cost the United States $25.1 billion, primarily due to the present value of long-term benefits and family care. The Department of Defense (DOD) has identified “inadequate computational models of battlefield ocular injuries” as one of nine gaps in defense-related vision research. Since Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, Congress has funded a line in Defense appropriations that is the only dedicated funding source for extramural research into vision trauma, which is managed by DOD’s Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC). Thao Nguyen, Ph.D., a TATRC grant recipient in its FY2009/2010 cycle, is developing a computational model of how primary blast trauma affects the eye, which should help in developing better protective gear for combat soldiers.

Thao (Vicky) Nguyen, Ph.D. serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Her interests include tissue mechanics, soft active polymers, and fracture mechanics.

RSVP to Dina Beaumont at [email protected] or 202-530-4672

The Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR), a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation, is proud to announce these educational programs associated with its Decade of Vision 2010-2020 Initiative, a sustained educational effort acknowledged by Congress that recognizes the benefits of federally funded vision research. Visit its Web site at www.eyeresearch.org