‘Seeing with your skin – how to grow a retina’ showcased the technology behind the landmark study, published in March 2018, of the London Project to Cure Blindness.
The exhibition, held earlier this month, used animation to explain how stem cell technology is used to grow retinas in a dish so scientists can help to restore vision in patients with sight loss disorders.
Dr Mariya Moosajee, Consultant Ophthalmologist at Moorfields, said that it’s important researchers are given a forum to share medical breakthroughs with a public audience to raise awareness of pioneering research.
“Our exhibition was designed to inform the public about how we are studying the use of stem cell technology to grow early eyes from a patient’s own skin to study their disease and develop new treatments,” explained Dr Moosajee.
Professor Pete Coffey, was also present at the event. At the time of the study’s publication, he said that it represented real progress in regenerative medicine.
“It opens the door on new treatment options for people with age-related macular degeneration. We hope this will lead to an affordable ‘off-the-shelf’ therapy that could be made available to NHS patients within the next five years.”
The study is a major milestone for the London Project to Cure Blindness, a partnership between Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).