The Chair’s Perspective

Thomas Gardner, MD, MS, associate chair for research, Roni Shtein, MD, Ann Arbor ACU director and Medical Director of the ORs, Alan Sugar, MD, MS, vice chair and associate chair for clinical affairs, Paul Lee, MD, JD, chair, Shahzad Mian, MD, associate chair for education, Denise John, MD, director of VA Hospital Eye Care, and Thiran Jayasundera, MD, director of strategic planning

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We are in an incredible time of scientific and educational progress in the world of eye care and research. Advances in understanding mechanisms of visual function and disease, the implementation of an FDA approved gene therapy, and the growth of eHealth are some of the ongoing exciting work in vision care and research. In this year’s Annual Report, we are pleased to share contributions of our faculty, trainees, staff, and partners from around the world.

Kellogg is one of ten eye centers selected to offer the first FDA-approved gene therapy treatment for correcting mutations in the RPE65 gene. Several gene therapy trials for other inherited eye diseases are currently underway at Kellogg and a number of centers. These gene therapy—and the many other—clinical trials at our Kellogg Clinical Research Center affirm that research is being translated into new treatments that may improve the lives of many.

Tomorrow’s new treatments come from today’s basic research—a focus of the National Eye Institute and many of our Kellogg scientists. Ongoing bench research into the fundamental biology of how the visual system works is an investment in future treatments and cures.

Research advances, once they have been thoroughly tested and approved, only help our patients if they have access to them. We are working to make complex care more readily available in communities closer to where our patients live, and we are cultivating our evidence-based eHealth and telemedicine programs to further transform and expand how we care for patients.

Today’s care increasingly combines the expertise of specialties within ophthalmology and with other fields of medicine. By also drawing upon the knowledge and skills of our colleagues in other disciplines outside of medicine, we can continue to create better systems that improve patient safety and effectiveness of care.

Kellogg strives to integrate research, teaching and clinical care to improve the lives of patients and their families. The progress detailed in this report was achieved with the support of our friends and colleagues combined with the dedication, imagination and commitment of our Kellogg faculty, staff and trainees. We look forward to the amazing progress to come in 2019!

Paul P. Lee, MD, JD
F. Bruce Fralick Professor and
Chair, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Director, W.K. Kellogg Eye Center