Have you ever wondered what happens in a lab? In this video, we welcome our Director of Development, Ranjeet Khare BEM, our young ambassador, Gemma Owen and our long-time supporter, Tina Roberts, from the Roberts Family Fund to go behind the scenes at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital.
Fight for Sight / Vision Foundation funds Dr Matteo Rizzi and Professor Omar Mahroo of the University College London Institute of Ophthalmology. They aim to develop an innovative gene therapy for Stargardt's disease, an inherited eye condition that causes progressive central sight loss and affects one in 8,000 to 10,000 people in the UK.
The Owen and Roberts families are both impacted by Stargardt's Disease. Professor Omar Mahroo and Dr Matteo Rizzi showed us around the lab. We discover that they are growing retinal cells in the lab and, as part of their research, make them become 'invisible' as they go under the microscope. As Ranjeet says, 'We know projects like this are the future of understanding and saving sight.'