Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) are a group of conditions that can cause vision loss due to retinal dysfunction. In recent years, the understanding of IRDs has significantly changed, and with emerging gene therapies, there has been a major shift in the management of IRDs.
Optometrists play a vital role in identifying patients with these rare conditions and can often be the first to detect an abnormality associated with an IRD. To ensure early diagnosis and access to emerging therapies, it is important optometrists are aware of the common clinical presentations of IRDs.
This one-hour webinar will provide a practical guide for optometrists to assist in assessment and management of patients suspected of having an IRD, featuring Professor John Grigg and Dr Thomas Edwards.
Topics:
• Clinical clues when suspecting an IRD
• Initial diagnostic approaches to IRD
• IRD clinical pathways for care
By attending this webinar, you are eligible to receive 1 CPD point from Optometry Australia.
About the Speakers
Professor John Grigg
MBBS (QLD) MD (SYD) FRANZCO FRACS
Professor John Grigg is Head of the Discipline of Clinical Ophthalmology and Eye Health, The University of Sydney’s Save Sight Institute. He has clinical responsibilities at Sydney Eye Hospital including inherited eye disease and glaucoma clinics as well as at The Children’s Hospital, Westmead, Sydney. This includes leading the clinical visual electrophysiology service at Sydney Eye Hospital and Children’s Hospital Westmead. He is a member of the Eye genetics research group Save Sight Institute, Children’s Medical Research Institute and Children’s Hospital Westmead. His main areas of research are in genetic eye disease and electrophysiology of the visual system. He is a Chief investigator on several NHMRC grants investigating new therapies for inherited retinal disorders.
Dr Thomas Edwards
MBBS, PhD, FRANZCO
Dr Thomas Edwards is a vitreoretinal surgeon and leads CERA’s Retinal Gene Therapy Research team. He undertook a PhD at the University of Cambridge in medical genetics before completing his ophthalmology training at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital (RVEEH) in Melbourne. Dr Edwards’ research looks at the potential of gene therapy to cure inherited retinal diseases, aiming to establish the infrastructure and knowledge base necessary to develop treatments that may halt or partially reverse some inherited causes of blindness.
