In my time as CERA’s Managing Director, one thing that continues to inspire me is the generosity of our supporters.

Every donation – no matter how big or small – makes a difference to our research and, ultimately, the lives of people with vision loss and blindness. I extend my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all our supporters for making our work possible – to our new donors, to loyal donors who have supported CERA for many years, and those of you who have left a gift in your Will to vision research.

Your support is the lifeblood of our organisation, allowing us to push the boundaries of knowledge and innovation. It gives much more than financial support – it is an investment in hope, progress, and the possibility of a future free from preventable vision loss and blindness.

I hope you enjoy learning about just some of the projects your donations have supported in 2023.

Professor Keith Martin, Managing Director 

With your support, Associate Professor Guei-Sheung (Rick) Liu and his team of Genetic Engineering researchers are hoping to make repeated invasive injections for ‘wet’ age-related macular degeneration and diabetic eye disease a thing of the past.

Thanks to your support, Professor Peter van Wijngaarden and his team are further developing their innovative eye scan to detect the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

Thanks to a two-year scholarship generously funded by CERA supporters, talented PhD student Satheesh Kumar can continue his ground-breaking research to develop a new gene therapy for inherited retinal diseases.

Your donation has opened the door for a new study led by Dr David Sousa to investigate whether nicotinamide (a type of vitamin B3) could protect vision in retinal detachment – a medical emergency that causes sudden vision loss.

At CERA and across the research field, donated eye tissue plays a vital part in cutting-edge research to develop new treatments for eye diseases. Thanks to your contribution, researchers now have better access to donated eye tissue through the purchase of a new tissue retrieval kit for the Lions Eye Donation Service.

With your support, Dr Jennifer Fan Gaskin and her team are pioneering efforts to develop a safer and more targeted way to combat eye scarring, which can contribute to eye diseases that threaten sight.

Several CERA research teams are benefitting from new equipment funded by CERA donors that provides a more comprehensive view of the retina in lab-based studies.

Your support has enabled scientific testing of a new functional assessment tool for CERA’s Bionic Eye and Retinal Gene Therapy Units. The tool aims to more accurately evaluate how new treatments and devices make a difference to patients with vision loss.

Your gift to CERA has been instrumental in funding research that may lead to new treatments and improved quality of life for people with thyroid eye disease. Led by Dr Jwu Jin Khong, the project will explore how thyroid eye disease impacts gene expression in different muscles and parts of the eye socket.

With your support, Dr Alp Atik is leading research into the safety, performance and cost-effectiveness of glaucoma surgery devices in the Australian healthcare system. It’s hoped this study will lead to more informed decisions about the best treatment options for people with glaucoma and improved health outcomes.

Thanks to donors like you, Associate Professor Rosie Dawkins and her team are moving ever closer to sight-saving treatments for endophthalmitis – a serious condition caused by severe inflammation inside the eye.