Meet your researchers

In the next ten years, approximately 270,000 individuals will be affected by sight loss in Ireland. Fighting Blindness supports high quality, retinal research efforts both in Ireland and abroad. Led by talented and dedicated clinical and scientific teams, their work aims to increase our understanding of the causes and consequences of retinal disease and to ascertain the evidence base towards the development of enhanced clinical care and disease-modifying therapies.

Meet your scientists and clinicians who are leading the way into a new era of detection, prevention and treatment for sight loss conditions.

Elucidation of the role of SARM1 in retinal homeostasis and oxidative stress-induced retinal degeneration
Dr Sarah Doyle, Trinity College Dublin

Cilia-related inherited retinal dystrophy: uncovering fundamental disease mechanism and designing patient-oriented impact
Prof Oliver Blacque and Ms Ailís Moran, University College Dublin

Inherited childhood sight loss: understanding visual cycle biology to develop treatments
Prof Breandán Kennedy and Ms Rebecca Ward, University College Dublin

Pioneering advances for control of myopia in children – The MOSAIC Initiative
Prof James Loughman, Dublin Institute of Technology

Identification of drugs that can safely and effectively maintain visual function in models of inherited retinal degeneration
Prof Breandán Kennedy, University College Dublin

StarT: Innovative Research Training Network focusing on different aspects of Stargardt Disease
Prof Elfride de Baere, University of Ghent, Belgium

ORBITAL: Ocular Research By Integrated Training And Learning

Prof. Laurence Fitzhenry, Waterford Institute of Technology  (WIT)

Exploring the potential of gene therapy to treat autosomal-dominant retinal disease in a mouse model

Prof. Debra Thompson, University of Michigan, USA

The Target 5000 Programme

Application of next generation sequencing for the genetic characterisation of Irish retinal degeneration patients
Prof Jane Farrar, Trinity College Dublin

Characterising the IRD population in Northern Ireland through an an all-Ireland retinal degenerations partnership
Ms Giuliana Silvestri, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland

Shedding light on unexplained inherited retinal diseases in Ireland and the Netherlands
Prof Frans Cremers, Radbound University, the Netherlands and Prof Jane Farrar, Trinity College Dublin

Clinical Genetics Programme for Inherited Retinal Degenerations

Target 5000 Clinical Fellowships

IRD COUNTS – The impact of living with an inherited retinal degeneration