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Dr Ruth Hogg, Queen's University Belfast - £249,941

This project uses long-term follow-up of retinal scans from the Northern Ireland Cohort of the Longitudinal study of Ageing (NICOLA), to understand what changes in eye scans may be early signs of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Professor Majlinda Lako, Newcastle University - £249,998

This project is aiming to understanding how the cells that make up the blood vessels in the macula may become damaged in early age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Following this, the goal is to find drug targets that can maintain blood vessel health to prevent or slow AMD progression.

Dr Eleni Beli, UCL - £267,533 (co-funded with Diabetes UK)

Disruptions to our body clock can have a surprising impact on our health, including links with eye damage for people living with diabetes. Dr Eleni Beli wants to take a closer look at these links, to understand more about how eye damage can develop and progress. Her research could uncover an innovative new approach to help people with diabetes avoid sight loss.

Prof Karl Matter, UCL - £489,423 (co-funded with Diabetes UK)

High blood sugar levels can lead to damage to our eyes, known as retinopathy. Professor Karl Matter thinks that a protein called MarvelD3, that helps cells to stick together in blood vessels, might hold some answers. His research could provide valuable new insights to develop innovative approaches to protect blood vessels and prevent sight loss for people with diabetes.

Professor Andrew Lotery, University of Southampton- £249,659 (co-funded with Roche)

What’s the problem?

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) progresses through several stages before causing sight loss. As we know, late AMD can be categorised into two forms: wet AMD and dry AMD (also called geographic atrophy). 

Dr Giuliana Silvestri, Royal Hospitals, Belfast - £154,706

A clinical trial into how well magnifying intraocular lens implants work for those with vision loss due to macular disease. If successful, this may pave the way for further use, including on the NHS.

Prof Luminita Paraoan, University of Liverpool - £220,670

Mitochondria are vital parts of every cell. They create the energy that cells need to survive and carry out tasks. The important layer of cells in the back of the eye called the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) requires a large amount of energy, so the mitochondria can get stressed. Over time and with age these mitochondria get damaged, and we see higher amounts of damage in patients with AMD. This work aims to understand what happens to these mitochondria when they age and get damaged, how we could slow or stop this damage and whether that could slow or stop the progression of AMD.

Dr Jacqueline van der Spuy, University College London - £200,000

There are very few treatments available for macular dystrophies, which are caused by faulty genes. One macular dystrophy is Doyne honeycomb dystrophy, which causes central vision loss in adults. Research at University College London aims to use gene therapy to treat Doyne honeycomb dystrophy patients.

Dr Ruth Hogg, Queens University Belfast - £113,860

Many risk factors are known to be involved in the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Although we still do not know which are the most important. Using health data from thousands of older people with and without AMD, Dr Ruth Hogg aims to better understand the role these factors play.

Prof Andrew Dick, University of Bristol - £243,732

This project will investigate two molecules involved in energy production and immunity in the cells of the macula. We know from a previous Macular Society funded project at Bristol University that the loss of these molecules disrupts cell metabolism, and causes cell ageing and harmful inflammation - all of which are central to the progression of AMD. This research will look at how these molecules work in the cells and investigate whether, by introducing more of them, we could restore cell health.