DOHENY EYE INSTITUTE
Programs
Program 1 [2018]
THE MISSION OF THE DOHENY EYE INSTITUTE (DEI), TO FURTHER THE CONSERVATION, IMPROVEMENT AND RESTORATION OF HUMAN EYESIGHT, IS GUIDED BY THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES: 1. TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HUMAN EYE, ITS CONDITIONS AND DISEASES, THROUGH RESEARCH; 2. TO TRANSMIT THIS KNOWLEDGE THROUGH EDUCATION, TRAINING, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE; AND 3. TO FACILITATE THE APPLICATION OF ITS RESEARCH TO IMPROVE PATIENT CARE AND FOSTER FURTHER RESEARCH. RESEARCH ACTIVITIES FOR THE PERIOD AND SELECTED FOR LONG-TERM FOCUS INCLUDE: RETINAL AND MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH THROUGH THE STUDY OF RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIUM, RETINAL CELL TRANSPLANTATION, MOLECULAR GENETICS OF INHERITED DISEASES OF THE RETINA AND GENE THERAPY FOR RETINAL DISORDERS; MODIFICATION OF CORNEAL SHAPE AND MORPHOLOGY THROUGH CORNEAL RESEARCH AND REFRACTIVE SURGERY INNOVATIONS; AND REGENERATION OF DAMAGED OPTIC NERVE. On December 18, 2013, the Doheny Eye Institute executed an agreement with the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) for a 99 year affiliation. The purpose of this affiliation is to carry out the Institute's mission -- to further the conservation, improvement, and restoration of human eyesight -- through research, education, and clinical care (clinical care is provided directly by UCLA). Both the Institute and UCLA-Stein Eye Institute are dedicated to providing the public with the highest quality of ophthalmic care and the most innovative and strategic research for the improvement of human eyesight. DURING THE YEAR, DEI PUBLISHED 113 ARTICLES, 70 CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS, AND PRODUCED 135 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS AND PROTOCOLS.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2017 – Jun 30, 2018Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$12.4MDoheny Eye Institute Research Program
THE MISSION OF THE DOHENY EYE INSTITUTE (DEI), TO FURTHER THE CONSERVATION, IMPROVEMENT AND RESTORATION OF HUMAN EYESIGHT, IS GUIDED BY THE FOLLOWING OBJECTIVES: 1. TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HUMAN EYE, ITS CONDITIONS AND DISEASES, THROUGH RESEARCH; 2. TO TRANSMIT THIS KNOWLEDGE THROUGH EDUCATION, TRAINING, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE; AND 3. TO FACILITATE THE APPLICATION OF ITS RESEARCH TO IMPROVE PATIENT CARE AND FOSTER FURTHER RESEARCH. RESEARCH ACTIVITIES FOR THE PERIOD AND SELECTED FOR LONG-TERM FOCUS INCLUDE: RETINAL AND MACULAR DEGENERATION RESEARCH THROUGH THE STUDY OF RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIUM AND THE USE OF ADVANCED RETINAL IMAGING IN PATIENTS WITH AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (AMD) AND IMAGE ANALYSIS USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLEGENCE; OPTIC NERVE RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATIONS OF DISEASES INVOLVING RETINAL GANGLION CELLS; INVESTIGATIONS OF RETINAL VASCULAR STIFFNESS AS A POTENTIAL CAUSATIVE FACTOR IN DIABETIC RETINOPATHY; RESEARCH FOCUSED ON DEFINING THE MOLECULAR DETAILS LINKING MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION AND ALTERED SIGNALING BETWEEN RETINAL NEURONS. On December 18, 2013, the Doheny Eye Institute executed an agreement with the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) for a 99 year affiliation. The purpose of this affiliation is to carry out the Institute's mission -- to further the conservation, improvement, and restoration of human eyesight -- through research, education, and clinical care (clinical care is provided directly by UCLA). Both the Institute and UCLA-Stein Eye Institute are dedicated to providing the public with the highest quality of ophthalmic care and the most innovative and strategic research for the improvement of human eyesight. IN NOV. 2021 DOHENY EYE INSTITUTE (DEI) MOVED TO ITS NEW LOCATION - 150 ORANGE GROVE BLVD IN PASADENA, CA. NEW AREAS OF RESEARCH DEI IS STUDYING THE MECHANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (AMD), THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF BLINDNESS AMONG INDIVIDUALS OVER 60 YEARS OLD IN THE USA. THE RISK OF DEVELOPING AMD IS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED WHEN SPECIFIC GENES ARE MUTATED. ONE NEW STUDY IS FOCUSED ON STUDYING THE RETINAL CELLS IN THE POPULATION OF PATIENTS HARBORING A SPECIFIC MUTATION IN A GENE INVOLVED IN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. THE STUDY IS ALSO FOCUSED ON UNDERSTANDING HOW CIGARETTE SMOKE, WHICH IS A RISK FACTOR FOR AMD, AFFECTS THE RETINA. THE RESEARCHERS ARE COMPARING HOW CIGARETTE SMOKE AFFECTS RETINAL CELLS GENERATED FROM AMD PATIENTS THAT HAVE THE GENETIC DEFECT VERSUS THOSE WITHOUT THE DEFECT. INFORMATION FROM THESE STUDIES IS CRITICAL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF NEW THERAPIES FOR AMD THAT TARGET WHAT IS CAUSING THE DISEASE. IN OTHER STUDIES, DEI SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN DEVELOPING NEW AND FASTER WAYS TO INTERPRET RETINAL IMAGES IN HUMAN PATIENTS USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI). APPLICATIONS OF AI INCLUDE THE ANALYSIS OF 3D BIOMEDICAL IMAGING DATA ACROSS DISCIPLINES. DEI SCIENTISTS HAVE DEVELOPED A NEW AI MODEL, "SLICE INTEGRATION BY VISION TRANSFORMER (SLIVIT)" THAT CONSISTS OF A UNIQUE COMBINATION OF TWO AI COMPONENTS AND A NOVEL LEARNING APPROACH THAT ENABLES IT TO ACCURATELY IDENTIFY DISEASE RISK FACTORS FROM MEDICAL SCANS. THE ADVANTAGE IS THAT SLIVIT HAS WIDE ADAPTABILITY ACROSS A VARIETY OF IMAGING MODALITIES. EXAMPLES INCLUDE USING OCT FOR DISEASE-RISK BIOMARKERS, ULTRASOUND VIDEOS FOR HEART FUNCTION, 3D MRI SCANS FOR LIVER-DISEASE SEVERITY ASSESSMENT, AND 3D CT FOR CHEST NODULE MALIGNANCY SCREENING. DEI HAS DEVELOPED CUTTING EDGE IMAGING TECHNOLOGY, INCLUDING A NOVEL ADAPTIVE OPTICS NEAR-CONFOCAL OPHTHALMOSCOPE (AONCO) THAT ENABLES PRECISE EVALUATION OF THE DYNAMIC MOVEMENT OF BLOOD CELLS WITHIN RETINAL CAPILLARIES. BY MONITORING ERYTHROCYTE VELOCITY WITHIN A CARDIAC CYCLE, THEY WILL VALIDATE WHETHER THE PATTERN OF BLOOD FLOW IN RETINAL CAPILLARIES RESEMBLE ASSOCIATED WITH THE ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN THE MACROVASCULAR SYSTEM. ANOTHER APPLICATION OF THIS INSTRUMENT IS IN THE DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CEREBRAL SMALL VESSEL DISEASE, A COMMON NERVOUS SYSTEM DISORDER THAT CAUSES FAILURES OF BLOOD FLOW AND CONTRIBUTES TO VASCULAR COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND DEMENTIA. THIS WORK IS PART OF A NEW FIELD OF OCULOMICS - USING EYE FEATURES TO DIAGNOSE SYSTEMIC DISEASE. DEI HAS ALSO DEVELOPED A PIONEERING ADAPTIVE OPTICS IMAGING INSTRUMENT THAT INTEGRATES SCANNING LASER OPHTHALMOSCOPY AND OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY (AO-SLO-OCT). THIS INSTRUMENT CAN IMAGE THE RETINA WITH 3D SPATIAL RESOLUTION, ALLOWING FOR IN-VIVO ULTRASTRUCTURE ASSESSMENT OF INDIVIDUAL PHOTORECEPTORS IN BOTH EN FACE AND CROSS-SECTIONAL PLANES. THE IMPORTANCE IS THAT THIS ADAPTIVE OPTICS IMAGING OVERCOMES THE LIMITATIONS PRESENTED BY OPTICAL DEFECTS IN LIVING EYES, ALLOWING FOR HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGES OF NOT ONLY PHOTORECEPTORS, BUT ALSO THE CHORIOCAPILLARIS IN THE STUDY OF VARIOUS CHORIORETINAL DISEASES, INCLUDING AMD. ANOTHER IMAGING TECHNIQUE USED BY DEI SCIENTISTS IS THE USE OF CALCIUM IMAGING IN CONJUNCTION WITH CONFOCAL MICROSCOPY TO CHARACTERIZE THE EFFECTS OF OXIDATIVE STRESS ON THE RETINAL GANGLION CELLS. THESE EXPERIMENTS WILL IDENTIFY THE EARLY DEFICITS IN GANGLION CELL ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTION RESULTING FROM MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION. BY CAREFULLY ANALYZING THE EARLIEST SIGNS OF CHANGES TO PHOTORECEPTOR RESPONSE AND SYNAPTIC OUTPUT TO BIPOLAR CELLS, THIS DETECTION AND INTERPRETATION COULD LEAD TO DIAGNOSTIC CLUES THAT AID DETECTION OF PERSONS AT HIGHER RISK OF GLAUCOMA OR OPTIC NEUROPATHY. AN ADDITIONAL NEW AREA INVOLVES INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE ROLE OF VASCULAR STIFFNESS AND MECHANOBIOLOGY IN INFLAMMATION-MEDIATED DEGENERATION OF INNER RETINAL VESSELS IN EARLY DIABETIC RETINOPATHY. DEI SCIENTISTS ARE ASSESSING THE PREVIOUSLY UNRECOGNIZED ROLE OF BONE MARROW STIFFNESS IN IMMUNE CELL-MEDIATED DEGENERATION OF INNER RETINAL VESSELS IN EARLY DIABETIC RETINOPATHY. THESE STUDIES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO IDENTIFY ENTIRELY NEW CLASSES OF MECHANOBIOLOGY-BASED THERAPEUTIC TARGETS FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF THESE EYE DISEASES IN THE FUTURE.GeographiesNot indicatedDatesJul 1, 2023 – Jun 30, 2024Source990No causes providedNo populations provided–$12.4M
Copyright 2026. All rights reserved to Chario Inc. (d.b.a. Impala)