UPCOMING EVENTS

20 Years in the U.S. News & World Report Top 10 pg 2

Stem Cell Research and Bioengineering Converge to Overcome AMD pg 3

Argus II® Update: Restoring Sight to the Blind pg 4

New Studies Expand Epidemiology of Eye Disease pg 6

Five New Recruits Join USC Eye Institute pg 7

Upcoming CME Opportunities and Events back

SEE INSIDE

NOVEMBER 2014

UP CLOSEUSC EYE INSTITUTE

USC Health Sciences Public Relations & Marketing2011 Soto Street, SST-2830Los Angeles, CA 90032

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PAIDUniversity of

Southern California

CME OPPORTUNITIESDECEMBER 2014 Retina

FEBRUARY 2015 Neuro-Ophthalmology & Oculoplastics

APRIL 2015 Glaucoma

EVENTSJANUARY 2015 Resident Case Presentations

APRIL 2015 USC Eye Institute Conference Days

(800) USC-CARE • KeckMedicine.org • Eye.KeckMedicine.org

©2014 Keck Medicine of USC

Look for more details in our next issue of USC EYE INSTITUTE UP CLOSE. To learn more now or sign up, contact Jonathan Song, MD, at jonathan.song@med.usc.edu.

2014-2015

OphthalmologyU.S. News & World Report

TOP

FOR 20 YEARS10

DECEMBER

Eye.KeckMedicine.org 32 USC EYE INSTITUTE

STEM CELL USC stem cell researchers

identified a stem cell line that contains

the characteristics of normal adult retinal

pigment epithelium (RPE) cells.

BIOENGINEERING USC bioengineers

developed a material that can act as a

supporting platform for RPE cells and

allow them to function normally.

OPHTHALMOLOGY USC received a $19

million grant in 2013 from the California

Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)

to develop a stem-cell based treatment

for AMD. David Hinton, MD, Keck School

of Medicine associate dean for vision

science (shown) and Mark Humayun, MD,

PhD, professor of ophthalmology and

bioengineering, are principal investigators.

We invite you to join us as we share some recent accomplishments in this issue of USC EYE INSTITUTE UP CLOSE. Our clinicians and researchers are at the leading edge of preserving and restoring vision. As one of America’s foremost ophthalmology departments, we’re always in action: uncovering untreated disease, bringing sight to the blind, and melding engineering, genomics and medicine to improve vision care worldwide. We hope you enjoy our updates.

Carmen A. Puliafito, MD, MBADean, Keck School of Medicine of USC May S. and John Hooval Dean’s Chair in Medicine Professor of Ophthalmology and Health Management

Rohit Varma, MD, MPH Grace and Emery Beardsley ProfessorChair, Department of OphthalmologyDirector, USC Eye Institute

WELCOME!

AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION• Leading cause of vision loss and

blindness among the elderly.

• An estimated 1.75 million people in the U.S. have AMD.

• A stem-cell based treatment is under development at USC.

• Phase 1 clinical trials are

expected to begin in two years.

For 2014-15, USC Eye Institute and USC Department of Ophthalmology retained the No. 9 spot in the national rankings of “Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report. The faculty of USC Department of Ophthalmology has earned Top 10 recognition for 20 years.

2014-2015

OphthalmologyU.S. News & World Report

TOP

FOR 20 YEARS10

Major Research Funding for USC Eye Institute• No. 3 in funding from the National

Eye Institute (NEI)

• Top 10 in NEI funding for the past 10 years

• Headquarters of the National Science Foundation Biomimetric MicroElecronic Systems Engineering Research Center for the past 10 years

Stem Cell Research and Bioengineering Converge to Overcome AMDResearchers at USC Eye Institute are working to restore vision to patients with advanced age-related macular

degeneration (AMD). By growing thin sheets of stem-cell derived cells and surgically implanting them into the

eye, they plan to replace diseased sheets in hope of restoring the retina’s critical light-sensitive cells.

Eye.KeckMedicine.org 54 USC EYE INSTITUTE

ARGUS II UPDATEThe world’s first retinal prosthesis reached another milestone on June 2, 2014.

Lisa Kulik, blinded by retinitis pigmentosa, became the first person on the West Coast to be

implanted with the recently FDA-approved Argus II.

Surgery was performed at Keck Medical Center of USC, where development of the Argus began — and continues — with co-developer Mark Humayun, MD, PhD.

For USC Eye Institute, it was one more step toward eliminating blindness.

For Lisa Kulik, it was a miracle — celebrated by her ability to see Fourth of July fireworks.

Kulik is examined by Mark Humayun, professor of ophthalmology and bioengineering at USC, who reported that she was ahead of expectations because she was able to see spots of light on the first day of activation.

During months of follow-up testing, Kulik will train her brain to see in a new way, interpreting the signals sent by Argus II.

“ I’m confident there will be a cure for blindness down the road and it starts here.” – Lisa Kulik

Argus II is comprised of an eyeglass-mounted camera that sends signals to an implanted 60-electrode receiver, which transmits them to the retina. Signals travel the optic nerve to the brain where they can be interpreted as a visual picture.

Lisa Olmos de Koo, assistant professor at Keck School of Medicine of USC, performed the four-hour surgery to implant Argus II into Kulik’s eye.

Kulik was thrilled to see the light and movement of fireworks.

This is an approximation of what she saw.

Eye.KeckMedicine.org 76 USC EYE INSTITUTE

USC EYE INSTITUTE FACULTY• Jesse L. Berry, MD• Mark S. Borchert, MD• Angela N. Buffenn, MD, MPH• Gloria Chiu, OD• J. Martin Heur, MD, PhD• Mark S. Humayun, MD, PhD• Amir Kashani, MD• Jonathan W. Kim, MD• Linda Lam, MD• Thomas C. Lee, MD• A. Linn Murphree, MD• Sudha Nallasamy, MD• Lisa C. Olmos de Koo, MD, MBA• Vivek R. Patel, MD• Carmen A. Puliafito, MD, MBA• Narsing A. Rao, MD• Bibiana J. Reiser, MD• Alena Reznik, MD• Neda Shamie, MD• Jonathan C. Song, MD• Rohit Varma, MD, MPH• Sandy X. Zhang-Nunes, MD

USC Eye Institute is comprised of physician scientists in the USC Department of Ophthalmology of Keck School of Medicine of USC, The Vision Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center.

Learn more about our physicians at Eye.KeckMedicine.org.

USC Eye Institute’s depth, breadth and expertise throughout the spectrum of eye care continues to expand with our newest recruits. Our faculty physicians serve patients in multiple locations in the Los Angeles area, including The Vision Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Jesse L. Berry, MD Assistant Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology specializing in ocular oncology; cataract and refractive surgery

Medical School: Harvard Medical School; Internship: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Residency: LAC+USC Medical Center, USC Eye Institute; Fellowship: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USC

Alena Reznik, MD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology specializing in glaucoma; cataract and refractive surgery

Medical School: Johns Hopkins School Of Medicine; Internship: Internal Medicine, UC Davis Medical Center; Residency: Ophthalmology, UC Davis Medical Center; Fellowship: UCLA/Jules Stein Eye Institute

Sandy X. Zhang-Nunes, MD Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology specializing in ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery; oculoplastics and retina

Medical School: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Internship: Transitional Year Resident, Intermountain Medical Center; Residency: UCLA/Jules Stein Eye Institute; Fellowship: Ophthalmic Surgeons and Consultants of Ohio

Jonathan Song, MD Director, Cornea and External Disease Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Medical School: UCSF School of Medicine; Internship: Harbor/UCLA Medical Center; Residency: LAC+USC Medical Center, USC Eye Institute; Fellowship: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USC Eye Institute

Vivek R. Patel, MD Director, Neuro-opthalmology and Adult Strabismus Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Medical School: University of Saskatchewan; Internship: McGill University; Residency: McGill University; Fellowship: USC Eye Institute

NEW PROFESSORS

INNOVATORSIN IMAGING

OCT Carmen A. Puliafito, dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, received the António Champalimaud Vision Award for his role in the discovery of optical coherence tomography (OCT), a breakthrough in eye imaging that has improved research, diagnosis and treatment worldwide.

Metabolic Camera USC Eye Institute clinician-scientists have developed technology that measures the molecular properties of eye tissue, allowing early detection of pathologic changes, without invasive procedures. In the image shown, concentrations of oxygenated blood around the optic nerve head are indicated by color-coding.

Neural and Brain Imaging USC researchers and ophthalmology faculty Arthur Toga, PhD, and Paul Thompson, PhD, combine brain imaging and super computing to better understand how the brain functions. Their work on neural connections helps advance the development of new types of visual prostheses.

New Studies Expand Epidemiology of Eye DiseaseKnowledge about the U.S. prevalence of eye disease among minority and vulnerable populations took another leap forward through studies recently published by investigator Rohit Varma, MD, MPH, director, USC Eye Institute.

African-Americans bear a heavier burden of diabetic macular edema, one of the leading causes of blindness in diabetic patients in the United States, according to a study led by Varma that was published online in JAMA Ophthalmology, August 14, 2014.

Latinos with Type II diabetes who have Native American ancestry are at significantly greater risk for developing diabetic retinopathy, according to a second study published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science on August 21, 2014.

By gathering data from defined patient groups, Rohit Varma and his colleagues identify risk factors, undetected disease and barriers to eye care to help the government set goals for preventive eye care and treatment.

VISION AT RISK: Diabetic Retinopathy (DR)

• Major Cause of Preventable Blindness Among American Adults

• 12.4 Million Americans have DR

• Significantly Greater Risk: Latinos with Native American Ancestry with Type II Diabetes

• More than 90% of DR patients avoid blindness with proper management

• Fewer than 35% of Latinos have annual eye exams and risk blindness

FIVE NEW RECRUITS JOIN USC EYE INSTITUTE

NEW DIRECTORS