| SPEAKER |
| Prof. Pete Coffey |
| UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London |
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The London Project to Cure Blindness
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MEETING
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October 2008 |
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| BIOGRAPHY |
Prof. Pete Coffey is internationally recognized as the leading expert in human embryonic stem cells and their potential use to cure blindness. In 1987 Pete joined the faculty at the University of Oxford on completing his doctoral studies. In 1989, he was awarded a personal Royal Society Research Fellowship at the same time moving to the University of Sheffield to establish a new laboratory for retinal transplantation. After 14 years at the University of Sheffield, Pete was appointed Professor in the newly built Henry Wellcome Building for Translational Eye Research at the Institute of Ophthalmology in London. Pete has many years experience in cellular therapies as applied to retinal transplantation and recently was the principal author and co-author of two landmark papers demonstrating that implanting human cells could prevent visual loss. As Professor and Head of Ocular Biology and Therapeutics (ORBIT), Pete has established The London Project to Cure Blindness. This project aims to deliver a human stem cell therapy for a blinding condition called age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by 2011.
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| TALK |
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The London Project to Cure Blindness: Stemming Vision Loss with Stem Cells
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| DESCRIPTION |
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The London Project to Cure Blindness aims to make the most of human embryonic stem cells to prevent blindness and restore sight in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by 2011. Our goal is to replace cells essential for seeing lost by disease at the back of the eye. We aim to repair and regenerate the aged diseased eye using human embryonic stem cells which have been transformed into the cells affected in AMD: the support cells for the photoreceptors (retinal pigment epithelium) and the photoreceptors. The cells will be surgically implanted into a clinical population of AMD patients.
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MEDIA
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Audio
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Flash Presentation
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