Project title:An on-demand gene therapy for neovascular blindness to avoid frequent eye injections

Supervisor: A/Prof Guei-Sheung Liu

Email: gsliu@unimelb.edu.au

Suitable for: PhD

Neovascularisation and vascular hyperpermeability are common and potentially devastating complications of neovascular eye diseases.

Regular intraocular injections of a medication that blocks a disease-causing mediator, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), are highly effective at treating these neovascular eye diseases.

However, the treatment requires frequent injections over a long period of time.

This is difficult for patients and their families and poses a large burden on health systems.

In this project, we aim to validate an on-demand eye drop-based anti-VEGF therapy to stop neovascularisation and vascular hyperpermeability in the back of the eye.

If successful, the project will be a major advance in the shift from clinician-administrated to self-administered therapy for managing neovascular eye diseases.

An eye drop-based therapy will also make treatment safer and easier to sustain, while also reducing costs to patients and the healthcare system, as well as enabling therapy uptake in disadvantaged communities and developing nations.