Foundation Fighting Blindness to Host Online Continuing Medical Education (CME, COPE) Webinar: A Review of Gene Therapy for Inherited Retinal Disease

During the one-hour webinar, Paul Yang, MD, PhD, assistant professor in ophthalmic genetics and ocular immunology at Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, will discuss the emerging therapeutic opportunities that gene therapies may provide for people with inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) such as retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease, Usher syndrome, and Leber congenital amaurosis. His presentation will describe how gene therapies work, options for genetic testing of patients, clinical trials, and which patients may qualify for voretigene neparvovec, the first FDA-approved gene therapy for the eye or an inherited condition.

The continuing education course will enable eye care professionals to:

• Describe gene therapy approaches to IRD patients
• Order genetic testing for IRD patients
• Discuss clinical trials for emerging gene therapies
• Identify patients potentially eligible for gene therapy and related clinical trials

Dr. Yang is an assistant professor in ophthalmic genetics and ocular immunology at the Casey Eye Institute and is a member of the Oregon Retinal Degeneration Center. He is also a clinical trial investigator and has a special interest in cataract surgery, especially pertaining to those patients with inherited retinal degeneration or uveitis. The focus of his research is to better understand the significance of immune-mediated damage secondary to the underlying genetic mutations found in inherited retinal degenerations. With the support of a career development award from the Foundation Fighting Blindness and a K08 from the National Eye Institute, he is currently conducting translational research in an effort to bring new medical treatments to the clinic for patients with retinitis pigmentosa.

Dr. Yang received his undergraduate degrees in bioengineering and biochemistry at the University of Washington in Seattle, during which he was awarded multiple summer research grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, as well as the Mary Gates Endowment for Students. He received doctorates in medicine and neurophysiology at Dartmouth Medical School, which was funded by an individual MD/PhD pre-doctoral national research service award from the National Institutes of Health. He completed an internship in internal medicine at the University of Utah and a residency and fellowship in ophthalmology at the Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake City.

Event Details
Date:               Thursday, June 9, 2022
Time:               7:00 - 8:00 PM EDT
Credits:           1.0 CME or COPE credit

Course Title: A Review of Gene Therapy for Inherited Retinal Disease
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and Foundation Fighting Blindness. Postgraduate Institute for Medicine is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (APCE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Physician Credit
Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

COPE Credit
This course is COPE approved for 1 hour of CE Credit. Check with your local state licensing board to see if this counts toward your CE requirement for re-licensure.