Centre for Eye Research Australia

19/11/2025

New CERA research has shown an artificial intelligence system can accurately detect and measure distinctive deposits in the eye critical in the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). 👁️

The findings open the possibility to study the not yet fully understood deposits at a scale previously thought impossible, accelerating research towards better treatments for the disease.

These deposits – called reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) – have previously been associated with a higher risk of progressing to late-stage AMD.

The deposits are not fully understood, and learning more about them requires looking at eye scans of many people who have them. However, identifying and measuring them is a challenge.

“Because of how they present on scans, identifying these deposits can be difficult for many clinicians,” says Associate Professor Zhichao Wu, the corresponding author of the study.

“And accurately quantifying or measuring their extent would be too prohibitively time-consuming to do manually.

“We want to be able to do large studies of hundreds or even thousands of people with these deposits to learn more about what they mean for age-related macular degeneration, but there aren’t the people or time to do it by hand.”

The AI model, developed alongside Dr Himeesh Kumar and University of Washington collaborators, has been publicly released so researchers around the world can use in their own work.

Continue reading this story from the latest edition of Eye News via the link in the comments below. 👇

14/11/2025

Have you tuned in to Voices of Volunteering❓ This Vision Australia Radio podcast celebrates the power of volunteering in the disability space, particularly in aged care.

Through the voices of everyday Australians, hear how small acts of kindness and connection make a big difference in the lives of older people, and why giving back is just as rewarding for the volunteer as it is for those they support.

📻💬 Link to the podcast in the comments below 👇

12/11/2025

✨ In celebration of Genetic Counsellor Awareness Day, we’re spotlighting Lisa Kearns, Research Genetic Counsellor and Orthoptist, who works with people affected by inherited eye diseases. ✨

Lisa also focuses on Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), a rare mitochondrial disorder that leads to sudden central vision loss. Her work raises awareness and helps people navigate diagnosis with confidence.

🔺 Why is raising LHON awareness so important?

“Many people may be unfamiliar with LHON, which can delay diagnosis. Sudden vision loss can have a major, life-changing impact. Raising awareness improves understanding and reduces misconceptions, ensuring earlier recognition and timely connection to low-vision services, support networks and research. It also can help maternally related family members who may worry about their vision loss risk to manage emotions such as fear, anxiety or guilt.

“Genetic counselling supports individuals and families to work through these feelings, understand their personal risk and discuss lifestyle, environmental and other factors that may trigger vision loss. It also provides an opportunity to explore family planning options, including emerging mitochondrial donation techniques that can help women reduce the risk of passing on the condition. This enables families to make informed decisions about their future.”

🔺 How do you support and empower people impacted by inherited eye conditions?

“Living with an inherited eye condition can bring many emotions and uncertainties. Support focuses on helping people navigate these challenges and find ways to cope and adapt. It helps individuals and families understand their diagnosis, talk through options for genetic testing and consider what it may mean for other family members, including family planning choices.

“We also connect people with low-vision services, practical aids and technology, mental health resources, peer or community groups and guidance on opportunities such as clinical trials or treatments. All to empower people to make informed choices and live life to the fullest.”

🔺 What advice would you give to someone who has just received diagnosis of an inherited eye disease or is concerned about their genetic risk?

“It can feel overwhelming. A referral for genetic counselling can help people understand their situation and genetic risk, and connect them with support. You're not alone in navigating this journey.”

🔺 What excites you about the future?

“Years ago, patients with an inherited eye disease were often told nothing could be done. Today, advances in genetic testing and research are helping us understand these conditions better – improving diagnosis and care, and creating more opportunities for clinical trials.

“It’s also wonderful to see the growing connection between researchers, clinicians and patients – driving change and ensuring lived experiences help shape future research, treatment development and supporting families.”

03/11/2025

Listened to the latest Talking Eyes podcast? This week, Head of the Lions Eye Donation Service Dr Heather Machin sits down with Lien Trinh to discuss how Eye Banks such as LEDS are changing people’s lives through honouring donors and families, preparing tissue for surgery and research and helping to restore sight in Australia and around the world.

📻💬 https://ow.ly/hmHu50XkKMn

31/10/2025

When your child is young, it can be challenging to spot the signs of vision problems. 👀

We’ve put together the 'Keeping young eyes healthy guide' to give you a snapshot of the different conditions affecting young eyes, with tips to protect your child’s eyesight for the future.

To get your copy, simply subscribe to our monthly Eye News via the link in the below comments. 👇

29/10/2025

28/10/2025

CERA Head of Corneal Research Professor Mark Daniell is Lien Trinh's latest guest on the Talking Eyes podcast. Listen as they take you through the world of corneal transplantation – from the reasons corneas sometimes fail to the latest surgical techniques that are improving vision recovery and reducing the risk of rejection.

Professor Daniell also offers insights into the work to engineer corneal tissue to reduce the global shortage of cornea and a new technology that could make delicate eye surgery faster, safer and easier to perform in more places.

📻💬 Listen via the link in the comments below 👇

27/10/2025

The retina at the back of the eye houses millions of light-detecting photoreceptors cells. 👁️ For people living with retinal degeneration – a group of diseases including age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and Stargardt’s disease – the death of these cells means a progressive loss of vision.

At CERA, Head of Cellular Reprogramming, Associate Professor Raymond Wong, is taking major steps towards restoring vision by using cell reprogramming to help the photoreceptors grow back. 🧬🔬

“We are working on a treatment to stimulate the stem cells in the eye to develop into new photoreceptors by injecting safe engineered viruses into the eye to deliver reprogramming genes,” says Associate Professor Wong.

Thanks to the support of CERA’s donors and the National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia – Associate Professor Wong’s team are scaling up towards developing treatments for retinal degeneration.

“With research at this stage, it’s difficult to find financial support as it doesn’t yet have a clear path to the clinic, but it’s absolutely necessary for the discovery of treatments,” he says.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today without our generous CERA donors who gave to us and continue to do so.”

In the research’s discovery phase, Associate Professor Wong received support from government and philanthropic organisations, including the National Health and Medical Research Council - NHMRC, Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia, CERA Foundation and Retina Australia.

After completing this phase, CERA established startup Mirugen to secure commercial partners to further support the research.

Last year, Mirugen received a $1.92m grant from biotech incubator CUREator+ – a national program funded by the Federal Government’s Medical Research Future Fund and delivered by Brandon BioCatalyst and AndHealth.

This year, Mirugen secured $4.5m in seed funding from a consortium of investors through The University of Melbourne Genesis Pre-Seed Fund, Tin Alley Ventures and Brandon Capital.

Associate Professor Wong says it's a huge moment for moving the research closer to the clinic. 🏥

“With this support, it shows there is hope from many people to make this treatment available to patients as soon as possible.”

19/10/2025

Cutting-edge research is making it possible to prevent vision loss caused by inherited retinal diseases (IRDs). However, with over 300 genes linked to different IRDs, people often don't know the exact gene causing their blindness – leaving them unable to access emerging treatments.

The VENTURE Study, a partnership between CERA and The University of Melbourne, involves over 550 people with IRDs. One hundred of them are receiving advanced testing through a partnership with The Advanced Genomics Collaboration (TAGC), aiming to find the exact genetic cause of their blindness. TAGC partners the University of Melbourne and Illumina, Inc.

"We are thrilled to be working with Illumina and TAGC to help develop other avenues for advanced testing for these people, in the hope that an answer may be achievable," says Professor Lauren Ayton AM, who co-leads the project at CERA alongside Dr Tom Edwards.

"The VENTURE registry is driving IRD research, giving access to research opportunities."

Under the leadership of ocular genetics expert Dr Ceecee Britten-Jones, some participants access advanced genetic testing to solve more complicated cases.

Professor Ayton says a specific diagnosis can be very reassuring for a person with an IRD: “The value of genetic testing cannot be overstated.”

The collaborative approach involves Retina Australia, UsherKids Australia and Blind Citizens Australia. "We work closely with community groups to ensure our work is relevant," says Professor Ayton.

“We are keen to find more participants for clinical trials quickly, and to also know more about IRDs in this era of possible treatment.”

Read the full article from our latest edition of Visionary magazine (link in comments) 👇

Pictured: Professor Ayton and Dr Britten-Jones

16/10/2025

The cornea plays a vital role in our vision, but there's still so much to uncover about the clear window to the eye. 👁️ Our very own ‘Dr Karl’ Brown recently joined Lien Trinh on episode 1 of her new season of Talking Eyes to discuss why the cornea is so important – and the cutting-edge research at CERA to engineer tissue to help combat a global shortage of donated corneas. 🌏

📻💬 Listen to the podcast via the link in the comments. 👇

14/10/2025

🙌 We’re delighted to share CERA researcher Dr Sena Gocuk is the inaugural winner of the Retina Australia Emerging Scientist Award – recognising and supporting her demonstrated excellence in research, leadership and advocacy in inherited retinal diseases (IRDs). 👁️

IRDs are a broad group of eye conditions resulting from a change or ‘mutation’ in one or more genes.

Dr Gocuk has been pioneering research into female carriers of X-linked IRDs, such as choroideremia and X-linked retinitis pigmentosa – caused by a gene mutation on the X chromosome. 🧬

Her research aims to ensure female carriers have equal access to potential treatments and support as males with these inherited conditions.

Dr Gocuk is currently being supported by The Felton Bequest Philanthropic Research Grant at CERA to advance her research in two new projects.

The first aims to develop a clinical test to identify a female carrier's risk of severe vision loss to facilitate personalised clinical care.

The second explores whether emerging gene therapies being tested in males with X-linked diseases could also be safe and effective for female carriers.

Please join us in congratulating Dr Gocuk on this well-deserved honour! 🎉

09/10/2025

We did it! 🎉 Together, we've raised $200,000 for eye research. Thanks to our anonymous dollar-for-dollar match donor who amplified our collective impact and doubled donations until we reached our target. And of course, YOU.

Without you, none of this would have been possible. We hope you enjoyed watching your donation double and seeing the tally increase throughout the day.

But Hope in Sight Giving Day isn't over – there's still time to support our vision research – although any donations from this point won’t be doubled: https://ow.ly/qbyL50X8VCA

Your generosity means so much to our team of researchers – helping them move ever closer to new treatments and cures for vision loss. 🧬🔬

It’s research that could have a life-changing impact for people like Louis Shepard and Olivia Depares who live with Usher syndrome – a rare inherited genetic condition that causes profound hearing loss, a progressive decline in vision from teen to adult years and balance problems.

At CERA, our ever expanding and developing gene and cell therapy research is giving hope for future treatments for vision loss due to Usher syndrome and other genetic eye conditions.

Thank you again for supporting our Hope in Sight Giving Day. We couldn’t have reached this milestone without you. ❤️