Iowa Eye Association News Sept, 2002. Series 2, no. 37.

University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

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Center for Macular Degeneration

A large part of the Center for Macular Degeneration moved to the new Medical Education and Biomedical Research Facility in May and June. The Center will eventually occupy the entire 4th floor of the facility.

Units currently working in the 16,000 square foot area include the Molecular Ophthalmology Laboratory, directed by Edwin M. Stone, MD, PhD, the Laboratory for Disease Gene Discovery, directed by Val C. Sheffield, MD, PhD, and the Genome Research Laboratory, directed by M. Bento Soares, PhD. Robert F. Mullins, PhD, a member of the Cell Biology and Functional Genomics Laboratory, will move into the building in the fall. The Center also occupies about 25,000 square feet of additional laboratory space in other buildings on campus including the Seamans Center for the Engineering Arts and Sciences, the Eckstein Medical Research Building, and the Oakdale Campus. The Center benefits from the work of nearly 200 full-time individuals in clinical and laboratory settings on the main and Oakdale campuses.

In June, attendees of the Iowa Eye Association Annual Meeting were treated to a luncheon tour of the Molecular Ophthalmology Laboratory and the Laboratory for Disease Gene Discovery. On the tour, Dr. Stone pointed out the tremendous number of human samples processed in a year (over 9,000) and the novel technologies they have developed to help manage this volume.

The Center for Macular Degeneration was created in 1997. Its mission is to identify the primary causes of age-related macular degeneration and allied disorders; to apply this improved understanding of disease mechanisms to the prevention of retinal degeneration in the majority of people at risk, as well as to the development of sight-saving medical, pharmacological and surgical treatments for those already affected; and to deliver the most advanced medical, surgical, rehabilitative, and educational services available to patients in a timely, caring and cost effective manner. The major focus of the Center is the development of gene-directed therapy for eye diseases.

Center for Macular Degeneration