Foundation Fighting Blindness to Host Free Webinar on Regenerative Medicine Advances for Retinal Diseases

COLUMBIA, Md. – February 25, 2026 – The Foundation Fighting Blindness, the driving force in the global development of treatments and cures for blinding diseases, will host a free webinar for eye care professionals to explore the transformative potential of regenerative medicine in treating inherited retinal diseases and dry AMD. The session, "Rebuilding Vision: Regenerative Medicine and Clinical Trials in IRD and Dry AMD," will take place on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, from 7:00–8:00 p.m. ET.

The session will provide an in-depth look at cutting-edge stem cell-derived photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) therapies that show promise for addressing inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) and geographic atrophy in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), conditions for which there are currently no treatments to restore vision lost from retinal atrophy.

“Regenerative medicine represents one of the most promising frontiers in our fight against inherited retinal diseases,” said Michelle Glaze, director of professional outreach at the Foundation Fighting Blindness. “This webinar brings together leading experts to share the latest research on stem cell therapies and the advanced imaging techniques that are critical to evaluating treatment success and guiding future clinical development.”

Attendees will gain a comprehensive overview of the current regenerative medicine landscape, including detailed information on cellular imaging techniques used to evaluate stem cell migration, survival, and integration post-transplantation. They will also gain insights into how high-resolution imaging and sensitive detection methods are advancing our ability to track and visualize donor-derived RPE cells in real-time.

Featured Presenters Include:

• Chad Jackson, PhD, is senior director of the preclinical translational research program at the Foundation Fighting Blindness, where he oversees the Foundation's preclinical translational research programs. Dr. Jackson has over 20 years of research and development experience in biomedical sciences and is committed to transforming ideas and projects addressing inherited retinal degenerations into clinical solutions.
• Katie Beasley, PharmD, MS, is a clinical development leader within the ophthalmology therapeutic area at BlueRock Therapeutics. Prior to joining BlueRock, Dr. Beasley worked at AGTC, advancing gene therapy assets for inherited retinal degenerations, including retinitis pigmentosa, X-linked retinoschisis, and achromatopsia. She also held clinical development roles at Alexion and AstraZeneca, contributing to the development and approval of ravulizumab for patients with myasthenia gravis. Dr. Beasley holds a PharmD from the University of Southern California and an MS in applied physiology from the University of Connecticut.
• Yannis M. Paulus, MD, FACS, FARVO, is the Jonas Friedenwald Professor in Ophthalmology and Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University Wilmer Eye Institute. An academic vitreoretinal surgeon and clinician scientist, Dr. Paulus directs an active multidisciplinary lab that applies optics, photonics, biomedical engineering, regenerative medicine, AI, and nanoparticles to develop novel retinal imaging and therapies for retinal degenerative diseases. He has more than 250 peer-reviewed publications and serves as an inventor on 11 patent or provisional patent applications. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO).
• Jeff Stern, PhD, MD, is founder and chief medical officer of Luxa Biotechnology, where he is developing dry AMD treatment using RPE cell therapies. A retinal specialist with a PhD in biophysics and an MD in ophthalmology, Dr. Stern is also co-founder and chief executive officer of StemCultures, LLC, and co-founder of the Neural Stem Cell Institute. He has received the NEI Audacious Goals Prize and serves as principal investigator on an $11 million NYSTEM translational grant.

To register, RSVP at https://bit.ly/4s1dCvk.

About the Foundation Fighting Blindness
Established in 1971, the Foundation Fighting Blindness is the world’s leading private funding source for retinal degenerative disease research. The Foundation has raised nearly $1 billion toward its mission of accelerating research for preventing, treating, and curing blindness caused by the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases including: retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and Stargardt disease. Visit FightingBlindness.org for more information.

Media Contact:
Michelle Glaze
Director, Professional Outreach
MGlaze@FightingBlindness.org
251-654-9758

Organization Contact:
Chris Adams
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
CAdams@FightingBlindness.org
410-423-0585