“This is an important fellowship dedicated to research into the dietary and lifestyle impacts on macular degeneration,” said Neal Mercado, Director of Blackmores Institute. “Dr Gopinath’s work will contribute to our understanding of how this degenerative disease is prevented and managed which will hopefully save the sight of those at risk.”
The fellowship is valued at AUD$100,000 over two years and is largely funded by Blackmores Institute and the Blackmore Foundation with support from the Macular Degeneration Foundation’s research fund.
Dr. Gopinath is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Vision Research, Westmead Millennium Institute and will work under the supervision of Professor Paul Mitchell, one of the world’s leading experts in Macular Degeneration. Her proposed research involves a detailed analysis of the 15-year data from the landmark Blue Mountains Eye Study (BMES) to improve knowledge of the nutritional and lifestyle risk and protective factors (particularly dietary antioxidant and supplement intake, diet quality and food groups). This is expected to help explain the causes of disease, improve early detection of people at risk of progression, and facilitate new approaches to therapy.
