CERA Deputy Director and Head of Macular Research Professor Robyn Guymer AM and CERA Head of Ophthalmic Epidemiology Research Associate Professor Lisa Zhouting Zhu have been awarded Investigator Grants by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) in their latest round of funding.

Treating AMD early

With her NHMRC Fellowship, Professor Guymer aims to advance research focused on detecting and treating age-related macular degeneration (AMD) – a leading cause of vision loss in Australians aged over 50.

AMD affects the macular, the central part of the light sensing retina at the back of our eye, which eventually leads to a loss of central vision.

As Head of Macular Research at CERA, Professor Guymer’s team has contributed groundbreaking work towards a deeper understanding of the disease progression in AMD and potential treatments aimed at slowing its progression.

However, Professor Guymer says stopping AMD in its earliest stages remains the team’s ultimate goal.

“The NHMRC Fellowship will not only enable us to further explore potential new treatments aimed at treating AMD early but will importantly also help us work towards a greater understanding of how we measure the success of these studies,” she says.

The grant will also support the team as they work to further refine the visual function changes in those with AMD and how it changes as the disease progresses. This will help identify people who may benefit most from these emerging treatments.

Professor Guymer will also work with her established collaborators to delve deeper into the underlying factors that may contribute to the development of AMD.

“To stop AMD before it threatens sight, we need to understand exactly what causes it,” Professor Guymer says. “By figuring out these connections, we hope to find new targets for future treatments.”

Predicting cardiovascular disease risk

Associate Professor Zhu will use her Fellowship to further develop her team’s artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that assesses a person’s risk of cardiovascular disease through a simple scan of their retina.

CVD is a leading cause of mortality in Australia, with around one in four people dying from the disease. Associate Professor Zhu says up to 80 per cent of cases could be prevented through early detection and management.

“Thanks to the Fellowship, we can continue our work towards ensuring all Australians have access to an accessible, cost-effective, informative and personalised cardiovascular disease risk-assessment tool,” she says.

Associate Professor Zhu says the retina provides a unique window to visualise cardiovascular health.

“The retina’s tiny vessels are connected to our broader circulatory system and can show potential heart-related damage earlier than traditional diagnostic methods,’ she says.

Associate Professor Zhu says unlike traditional cardiovascular disease testing methods, which often require multiple GP consultations and weeks of waiting for blood test results, this technology offers an immediate, non-invasive risk assessment.

“It’s quick, cost-effective and user-friendly”, she says.

The team will work to refine the AI algorithm with the aim of predicting future cardiovascular events with unprecedented accuracy.

They also aim to provide more personalised insights into an individual’s cardiovascular disease risk factors.

“We can visualise the most important contributors to a patient’s cardiovascular risk, forming the foundation for personalised and tailored management,” Associate Professor Zhu says.

“For some, it might be glucose levels, for others smoking or blood pressure.”

The team will also conduct a clinical study to track how early risk awareness of cardiovascular disease impacts patient behaviours, such as diet and lifestyle.

Ultimately, Professor Zhu aims to implement the tool more widely across general practice.