Mentor Research Statement

Vision in diabetes; color vision; assessment of retinal function

Diabetes is the leading cause of severe vision loss in the working age population (20-74 yrs). Diabetic retinopathy is responsible for the vast majority of this loss. Yet current treatments do not prevent, reverse or eliminate the retinopathy. Recent research efforts have been directed at direct pharmaceutical interventions to treat retinopathy but they can only be evaluated if there are identifiable vision or functional risk factors identified prior to the development of irreversible damage to the retina (retinopathy). Our research is directed toward identifying the retinal markers, particularly those that predict subsequent development of retinopathy. We apply both human psychophysical (S-cone sensitivity) and electrophysiological (ERG and EOG) methods in our study of diabetics and non-diabetic controls.

BCSDP trainees will be trained in both the psychophysical and specialized human electrophysiological techniques, and in the advanced analyses needed to identify the specific retinal pathways generating the electrophysiological responses in normal and diseased eyes. BCSDP trainees will become well-trained independent investigators in the application of this work in a range of retinal vascular and neuro-retinal based diseases.