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Student opportunities
Providing insights into who we should treat for geographic atrophy
In 2025, the first treatment was approved for geographic atrophy (GA). As the treatments are not without risks, this project seeks to better establish how anatomical changes relate to patient-relevant outcomes and provide critical insights into the expected benefits of new treatments.
Supervisors: Associate Professor Zhichao Wu and Professor Robyn Guymer AM
Email: wu.z@unimelb.edu.au; rh.guymer@unimelb.edu.au
Suitable for: PhD
In 2025, the first treatment was approved for geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and it ushered us into a new era where slowing irreversible vision loss is now possible. However, current global anatomical measures of disease severity are poorly correlated with patient-relevant outcomes, thus hindering an understanding who would most likely benefit from treatment. This is critical because treatments are not without risks, and thus need to be carefully weighed against their expected benefit.
This project thus aims to better understand how the anatomical changes relate to patient-relevant outcomes, when considering the GA topography and the temporal dynamics of its progression. It also seeks to better elicit the impact of this disease relative to overall health, and the anatomical changes that explain such impact. Such understanding will ultimately provide better guidance for whom and when treatment for GA is warranted.