Fighting Blindness. Future Challenges and Opportunities for Visual Restoration

#BDBlindness

Fighting Blindness. Future Challenges and Opportunities for Visual Restoration

6th and 7th September 2016

CaixaForum Barcelona. Av. Francesc Ferrer i Guardia, 6-8. Barcelona (Espanya)

Scientific leaders

Dr. Jordi Monés
Scientific Director of Barcelona Macula Foundation: Research for Vision

Poster

aff_blindness-a0-def.pdf

Program

bdebate_bmf_blindess_program_def.pdf

Dossier

bdebate_macula_dossier.pdf

Synopsis

sinopsisbdebate_fightingblindness_en.pdf

Tabs

Description

Blindness is a major global health challenge because of the enormous impact it has on patients and their families, and their important socio-economic consequences. Besides the great emotional impact that this implies for patients and their families, also means the inability to pursue education, to find a quality job, an increased risk for falls and accidents, a limited autonomy and an impediment to have an active lifestyle and quality.

Over the coming years, 1 of every 4 people over 50 years-old will suffer some kind of degenerative eye disease. Currently in the EU there are 91 million people over 65 years and is expected to reach 127 million by 2020. Worldwide it is estimated that there are 285 million people with impaired vision and 39 million are blind.

These debates, jointly organized by B·Debate, an initiative of Biocat and Obra Social “la Caixa”, and Barcelona Macula Foundation, with the collaboration of CRG and LEITAT, aim to propose ideas and explore the potential of new therapeutic approaches for retinal dystrophies, combining nanotechnology, regenerative medicine, stem cells, gene therapy, genomics, bioengineering, ophtogenetics and photonics. There will be basic and translational researchers, leaders and experts in all these fields, in order to share innovative therapeutic opportunities in each sector, and especially in the exploration and discovery of possible synergies to generate new multidisciplinary collaborative research projects on this topic.

The conference image is a result of the scientific research of Gema Martínez-Navarrete and has been assigned by the author.

Agenda

Tuesday, September 6th, 2016
9:00	Welcome
9:20	SESSION 1: MOLECULAR PATHOLOGY AND BIOMARKERS IN AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (AMD) Chairs: Marco Zarbin (New Yersey Medical School, USA), Jayakrishna Ambati (University of Kentucky, USA)
9:20	Macular degeneration. Where we are in clinical practice Jordi Monés (BMF, Barcelona)
9:40	Anti PDGF therapy for exudative AMD: addressing the fibrosis pathway Samir Patel (Ophthotech, USA)
9:55	Markers and Mechanisms in Maculopathies: a systems view Marius Ueffing (Institute for Ophthalmic Research, Germany)
10:20	Towards a systems-oriented view of the molecular pathology of AMD Christina Kiel (CRG, Barcelona)
10:35	Cellular response associated to retinal diseases and therapeutics approaches Nicolas Cuenca (Alicante University, Alicante)
10:50	KEYNOTE SPEAKER: A molecular road to a therapy for Dry AMD Jayakrishna Ambati (University of Kentucky, USA)
11:15	Open debate
11:35	Coffee break
12:00	SESSION 2: NANOTECHNOLOGY Chairs: Jose Luis Pedraz (Universidad del País Vasco, Vitoria), Joan Parra (Fundació LEITAT, Barcelona)
12:00	Medical Nanochemistry, the use of reactive inorganic nanoparticles in medicine Victor Puntes (VHIR, Barcelona)
12:20	Non-viral gene delivery for the treatment of inherited retinal disorders Gustavo Puras Ochoa (University of the Basque Country, Vitoria)
12:35	Retinal degenerations: Animal models and new therapeutical approaches Gema Martínez Navarrete (Miguel Hernandez University, Elche)
12:50	Open debate
13:10	Poster session & discussion
13:40	Lunch
14:40	SESSION 3: GENETICS AND GENE THERAPY Chairs: Eduardo Fernández (Miguel Hernández University, Alicante)
14:40	Genetics. The case of the EYE RISK project Caroline Klaver (Erasmus University, Netherlands)
15:00	The role of mithocondrial genetics on the development of AMD Baruch Kupperman (University of California, USA)
15:20	Gene therapy in retinal degenerative diseases, looking for therapeutic targets for dry AMD Francisco Díaz Corrales (CABIMER, Sevilla)
15:40	Open debate
16:00	SESSION 4: PHOTONICS AND IMAGING Chairs: Jordi Monés (BMF), Samir Patel (Ophtotech, USA)
16:00	The use of advanced microscopy techniques for ophthalmological applications Pablo Loza (ICFO, Barcelona)
16:15	High resolution retinal imaging: the case of LITE project David Merino (ICFO, Barcelona)
16:30	From taking a PEEK to wide-field imaging: how imaging best serves translational research? Tunde Peto (Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK)
16:45	Open debate
17:00	Coffee break
17:30	SESSION 5: OPTOGENETICS AND ARTIFICIAL VISION Chairs: Nicolas Cuenca (Alicante University, Alicante), Marius Ueffing (Institute for Ophtalmic Research, Germany)
17:30	Visual neuroprosthesis: Current status and future prospects Eduardo Fernández (Miguel Hernández University, Alicante)
17:50	KEYNOTE SPEAKER: OPTOGENETICS Marco Zarbin (New Jersey Medical School, USA)
18:25	Open debate

Wednesday, September 7th, 2016
8:30	SESSION 6: REGENERATIVE THERAPY. STEM CELLS Chairs: Anna Veiga (CMRB, Barcelona)
8:30	Advanced cell therapies for AMD Berta de la Cerda Haynes (CABIMER, Sevilla)
8:50	Pluripotent stem cells for retinal disease, research and clinical application Anna Veiga (CMRB, Barcelona)
9:10	Use of induced pluripotent stem cells and direct lineage reprogramming in cell therapy for eye regenerative medicine Ana Belen Alvarez (UB, Barcelona)
9:30	Improving the quality and characterisation of stem cell reprogramming and analysing the genomic stability and immune response Michael Edel (UB, Barcelona)
9:50	Adult progenitor stem cells: applications for cell-based therapy in degenerative retinal diseases Ricardo Casaroli (Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, Barcelona)
10:10	Retinal regeneration via cell fusion mediated reprogramming Pia Cosma (CRG, Barcelona)
10:30	Open debate
10:50	Poster session and coffee break
11:30	SESSION 7: ROUND TABLE. FROM BENCH TO BEDSIDE Chairs: Joan Parra (Fundació LEITAT, Barcelona)
11:30	Research transfer Xavier Rubies (IBEC, Barcelona)
11:45	Innovative schemes though demand-driven procurement for procuring early detection services: the case of the PRo4VIP Ramon Maspons (AQUAS, Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona)
12:00	Technology transfer Joan Parra (Fundació LEITAT, Barcelona)
12:15	KEYNOTE SPEAKER: HIV brought us to Microbiome study Bonaventura Clotet (IrsiCaixa, Badalona)
12:45	Open discussion
13:10	Concluding remarks Joan Parra (Fundació LEITAT, Barcelona) Jordi Monés (BMF, Barcelona)

Speakers

Baruch D. Kuppermann

Professor of Ophthalmology and Biomedical Engineering, University of California

Jayakrishna Ambati

Director, Center for Advanced Vision Science, University of Virginia

Caroline Klaver

Prof. dr. Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam

Marco Zarbin

Chair, Department of Ophthalmology & Visual, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Jordi Monés

Ophthalmologist, Macula and Vitreorretinal Specialist and Researcher, Barcelona Macula Foundation

Christina Kiel

Staff Scientist, Group of Design of Biological Systems, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG)

Ana Belén Alvarez Palomo

Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Biomedicine, Universitat de Barcelona

Maria Pia Cosma

Group Leader, Reprogramming and Regeneration, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG)

Michael Edel

Group Leader Stem Cell Technology, Universitat de Barcelona

Pablo Loza-Alvarez

Staff Scientist SLN Chief, Biophotonics, Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO)

Tunde Peto

Head of the Ophthalmic Image Analysis unit, University College London

Gustavo Puras Ochoa

Professor, Faculty of Farmacy and Food Sciences, Universidad del País Vasco

Anna Veiga

Centre de Medicina Regenerativa de Barcelona

Francisco J. Díaz Corrales

Andalusian Molecular Biology and Regenerative Medicine Centre (CABIMER)

Berta de la Cerda

Andalusian Molecular Biology and Regenerative Medicine Centre (CABIMER)

Ricardo Casaroli

Professor, Institut Clínic d'Oftalmologia (ICOF), Hospital Clínic de Barcelona

Bonaventura Clotet

IrsiCaixa AIDS research Institute

Nicolás Cuenca

Professor, Department of Physiology, Genetics and Microbiology, Universidad de Alicante

Eduardo Fernández

Universidad Miguel Hernández

Ramon Maspons

Coordinator of Innovation, Agència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya (AQuAS)

David Merino

Research Fellow, Biophotonics, Institut de Ciències Fotòniques (ICFO)

Joan Parra

General Director, Centre Tecnològic LEITAT

Samir Patel

President, Ophothotech Corporation

Xavier Rubíes Feijoo

Head of Technology Transfer Office, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC)

Luis Serrano

Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG)

Marius Ueffing

Principal Investigator Molecular Biology of Retinal Degenerations, Institute for Ophthalmic Research Tübingen

Victor Puntes

Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2)

Gema Martínez Navarrete

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Institute of Bioengineering. Neuroprosthesis and Neuroengineering Research Group, Miguel Hernandez University

Travel & Venue

Address

CaixaForum Barcelona
Av. Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, 6-8 · Barcelona (Spain)

How to arrive

L1 and L33, Espanya

L8, S33, S4, S8, R5 and R6, Espanya

13, 150, 9, 27, 50, 65, 79, 91, 109, 165, D20, H12, V7, L72, L80, L81, L86, L87, L95

Gran Via – Pl. d'Espanya (station no 96) | Rius i Taulet (station no 237)

Synopsis

New fronts in the fight against blindness

Nearly 300 million people have serious vision problems, and an estimated one in five people in the world go blind every five seconds. There are many causes of blindness, ranging from such different illnesses as age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma to others that are hereditary, like retinitis pigmentosa and Stargardt disease. On 6th and 7th of September 2016, researchers from around the world gathered at B·Debate to propose ideas and explore the potential of new therapeutic approaches for retinal dystrophies, combining different disciplines such as nanotechnology and regenerative medicine.

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Fighting Blindness. Future Challenges and Opportunities for Visual Restoration

Fighting Blindness. Future Challenges and Opportunities for Visual Restoration