Saving Sight Session // “Balancing Hope and Hype: The Potential of Stem Cells to Help Patients with Blinding Diseases”

Free and open to the public, this community-centric event is modeled after the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health’s “Mini-Med School” programs. Our spring 2017 Saving Sight Session will feature the renowned David Gamm, MD, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, RRF Emmett A. Humble Distinguished Director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute, Sandra Lemke Trout Chair in Eye Research, Waisman Center Stem Cell Research Program all at the University of Wisconsin.

Dr. Gamm will be presenting, “Balancing Hope and Hype: The Potential of Stem Cells to Help Patients with Blinding Diseases”

Please join us for this exciting discussion by reserving your seat here:

About Dr. Gamm’s Research

Inherited and acquired degenerative diseases of the retina are a significant cause of incurable vision loss worldwide. Closer to home, I see the impact of these diseases on afflicted individuals and their families in my pediatric ophthalmology practice at the University of Wisconsin. As such, my laboratory at the Waisman Center utilizes stem cell technology to 1) investigate the cellular and molecular events that occur during human retinal differentiation and 2) generate cells for use in human retinal disease modeling and cell-based rescue or replacement strategies. To meet these goals, we utilize a variety of human cell types, including ES and iPS cells, which have the capacity to mimic retinal development and disease, as well as to delineate the genetic “checkpoints” necessary to produce particular retinal cell types. By understanding the behavior of these cell types in vitro and in vivo, we hope to optimize strategies to delay or reverse the effects of blinding disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa and age–related macular degeneration.