Long-time supporter of the Save Sight Institute, the Lions Save Sight Foundation was established to promote and facilitate the advancement of clinical research in the causes, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of eye-related diseases and anomalies. Over the years, the generous contributions of the Foundation have been instrumental in supporting all aspects of our research, ranging from the purchase of necessary equipment, to training medical personnel, and financing medical research publications. They also granted the seed funding needed to establish the Institute back in 1985.
After a quick introduction to the clinic and the main aspects of our long-standing partnership with the Lions delivered by Prof. Peter McCluskey and Prof. John Grigg, our guests had the opportunity to see a few of our researchers at work, thus getting a glimpse of the cutting-edge research conducted within the Institute. Dr. Ting Zhang and Dr. Sheng Hua shared the secrets of cell culture and corneal bioengineering, something Dr. Michael Ryan from the Lions Save Sight Foundation was especially fascinated about.
I was trained as a medical laboratory scientist who used to do pathology work. I was impressed by how the hospital team goes out and recovers the corneal material that can then be used for a lot of different patients. The post-docs conducting the research were clearly passionate about their work!
Finally, while visiting the Billson Lab, our guests could hear all about confocal research from Associate Professor Michele Madigan. Learning about the many projects we are currently involved in, Dr. Yasanti was pleasantly surprised by the number of people we ultimately get to help, particularly in the field of eye genetics, as well as in the development of several other clinical methods to address common eye-related diseases such as cancer and cataract.
They were both really excited to connect with us and discuss all things eye research. We look forward to welcoming them soon on another tour and be able to share the ins and outs of the latest research carried out at the Save Sight Institute.