Eye Disease
In Australia it is the very young and the elderly that are the most vulnerable to contracting diseases of the eye.
In the West Pacific Region, 9,000,000 people are blind, the most common causes of which are cataracts, vitamin A deficiency, eye injuries, trachoma, glaucoma and diabetes. In Australia the major cause of blindness is age-related macular degeneration.
Research at the University of Sydney Department of Clinical Ophthalmology and Eye Health, located at the Sydney Eye Hospital, focuses on the major causes of blindness and eye cancer in children and the elderly.
Professor Frank Billson is the Foundation Professor of the Department of Ophthalmology and Foundation Director of the Save Sight Institute. He has been the driving force in establishing and developing the Institute on the Sydney Eye Hospital campus on Macquarie Street. The Institute is recognised as the major eye research initiative in NSW focusing on developing treatments of eye disease, and cancer in children and the elderly.
Professor Billson initiated the commercialisation of the Institute's fundamental research in glaucoma, which has excited worldwide interest from international glaucoma research bodies. In 2001 the Institute was recognised in the Australian Design Awards and is now part of the Federal Government's Medicare service.
Current programs include:
- The Billson Research Laboratory, Save Sight Institute
Past research programs include:
- Reducing the severity of visual loss in retinal disorders, Professor Jonathan Stone
The Medical Foundation….................…Research for a healthier future