For Eye Care Professionals

Professional Webinars

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Gene Therapies for Inherited Retinal Diseases: The Nuts and Bolts, Challenges, and Opportunities.

Webinar to eye care professionals on Thursday, March 13, 2025. 

The webinar reviewed several topics, including:

  • Viral delivery systems
  • Surgical techniques
  • Current clinical trials and endpoints
  • Inflammation management
  • Future directions

Guest speakers included:

  • Christine Kay, MD
  • Thomas A. Mendel, MD, PhD

Webinar Series: A Path Forward for IRD & Dry AMD Patients

Foundation Fighting Blindness presents an on-demand webinar series for eye care professionals focusing on care and resources for patients with an inherited retinal disease (IRD) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Each video in the series will assist eye care professionals in providing a path forward for patients with a retinal degenerative disease.

  • Episode 1:  The Patient Journey
  • Episode 2:  Inherited Retinal Diseases Overview
  • Episode 3:  Patient Resources & the My Retina Tracker Program
  • Episode 4:  Emerging Therapies and Clinical Research for IRDs
  • Episode 5:  Age-Related Macular Degeneration
  • Episode 6: Low Vision Resources
  • Episode 7: Exploring Clinical Trials for IRD Patients
  • Episode 8: Continuity of Care & Patient Referrals


PRESENTERS:

  • Ben Shaberman – VP, Science Communications, Foundation Fighting Blindness
  • Michelle Glaze – Director, Professional Outreach, Foundation Fighting Blindness

Episode 1:  The Patient Journey

Episode 2:  Inherited Retinal Diseases Overview

Episode 3:  Patient Resources & the My Retina Tracker Program

Episode 4:  Emerging Therapies and Clinical Research for IRDs

Episode 5:  Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Episode 6: Low Vision Resources

Episode 7: Exploring Clinical Trials for IRD Patients

Episode 8: Continuity of Care & Patient Referrals

Best Clinical Practices for Patients with Inherited Retinal Diseases

This March 20, 2024, webinar reviewed several topics related to the care and management of IRD patients, including:

  • Recommended functional and structural tests.
  • Potential manageable complications.
  • Genetic testing and why it is a critical element in IRD care.
  • Clinical trials for emerging therapies.
  • IRD patient registries, low vision clinics, and additional resources.

Presenters included:

  • Rachel Huckfeldt, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and a clinician-scientist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear.
  • Rachelle Lin, OD, MS, FAAO, assistant professor at the Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO) at Marshall B. Ketchum University

Thank you for viewing the Best Clinical Practices for Patients with IRDs Webinar.

The Foundation is committed to delivering high-quality webinars that cater to your educational needs and preferences. To help us continue improving and tailoring our content to your expectations, we kindly request you to take a few minutes to fill out a short survey linked below. Your feedback will be instrumental in ensuring that our future webinars are even more beneficial and engaging.

Take Survey

Your responses to the survey will be completely anonymous, and your candid feedback will be highly appreciated.

Best,
Foundation Fighting Blindness Team

Therapeutic Targets for Dry AMD: A Foundation Fighting Blindness Webinar for Eye Care Professionals

The Foundation Fighting Blindness hosted a webinar on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, with David Boyer, MD, who reviewed and described many of the current therapeutic targets for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and geographic atrophy. His discussion includes diagnosing dry AMD in patients and reviewed of existing and developmental treatments. Dr. Boyer is Senior Partner at Retina-Vitreous Associates Medical Group and Adjunct Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology with the University of Southern California/Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles.

David S. Boyer, MD, is a Board-certified ophthalmologist specializing in the treatment of diseases of the retina and vitreous. He is Senior Partner at Retina-Vitreous Associates Medical Group with offices in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, North Hollywood, Torrance, Pasadena, Tarzana and Glendale, California. Dr. Boyer is an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology with the University of Southern California/Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles. He has an extensive research background and is currently an investigator for various clinical trials. He is one of the leading retinal clinical researchers in the country for new treatments in macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema. A widely published author and avid lecturer, Dr. Boyer lectures nationally and internationally on retinal research and the innovative approach to the treatment of retinal diseases. The webinar was for all eye care professionals including: retinal specialists, ophthalmologists, optometrists, low-vision rehabilitation specialists, orientation and mobility specialists, and ophthalmic technicians.

This webinar was sponsored by Apellis Pharmaceuticals.

21 Cool Research Projects for 2021

Last year, 2020, was to be a monumental year for eye and vision organizations around the world, but the pandemic happened and drastically altered plans for virtually all initiatives, events, and celebrations. Delays and shutdowns of lab research studies and clinical trials for emerging therapies were especially upsetting for doctors, scientists, and the patients they are working so hard to help. But in 2021, we now see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Presenters of this webinar included the Foundation’s Ben Shaberman, senior director of scientific outreach, and Michelle Glaze, associate director of professional outreach. Special guest Caesar Luo, MD, Bay Area Retina, provided an overview of the Foundation’s no-cost genetic testing program.

The below recording is appropriate for all eye care professionals, including retinal specialists, ophthalmologists, optometrists, rehabilitation professionals, occupational therapists, and orientation and mobility instructors.

Low Vision Resources and Rehabilitation for Retinal Degeneration Patients: A Webinar to Discuss Critical Needs and Opportunities

The Foundation Fighting Blindness, the world’s leading organization committed to finding treatments and cures for blinding retinal diseases, hosted a low vision webinar to inform eye care professionals about the many opportunities to greatly enhance the quality of life, and provide hope, for their retinal disease patients.

The interactive webinar is for all eye care professionals including: retinal specialists, ophthalmologists, optometrists, rehabilitation professionals, occupational therapists, and orientation and mobility instructors.

This is the video referenced in Don Fletcher's case study:

Webinar presenters and panelists

  • Donald Fletcher, MD is a clinician and researcher in the field of retinal diseases and low vision rehabilitation.For the last 34 years, he has devoted himself to rehabilitation of the visually impaired and has cared for more than 30,000 low vision patients and taught many others how to perform this work. He sees patients at California Pacific Medical Center, Department of Ophthalmology in San Francisco; Envision in Wichita, Kansas, where he is medical director; the University of Kansas Medical Center, Department of Ophthalmology in Kansas City; and Retina Consultants of Southwest Florida in Fort Myers, where he is director of the Low Vision Rehabilitation Center.
  • Wayne Heidle was an assistant professor at Southern California College of Optometry (retired). He is currently the manager at the Kathryn T. McCarty Adaptive Technology Center and a member of the National Speakers Association and Global Speakers Federation. He received an honorary doctorate (LHD) from Marshall B. Ketchum University.
  • Rebecca Kammer, OD, PhD, University of California, Irvine, has been a low vision specialist for 20 years with the majority of that time serving as head of low vision clinical programs at institutions or for international rural outreach. Dr. Kammer currently spends most of her time conducting research with inherited retinal disease trials. She is also part-time clinical faculty at UC Irvine department of ophthalmology where she founded a low vision service in 2018.
  • Denny Moyer, BS, COTA/L, SCALV is a founding member and current chief executive officer of the Ensight Skills Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation in Fort Collins, Colorado, and the Curtis Strong Center for the Visually Impaired in Greeley, Colorado. Denny has been visually impaired from Stargardt disease since age 19.
  • Monica Perlmutter, OTD, OTR/L, SCLV, FAOTA is an associate professor at the Washington University Program in Occupational Therapy in St. Louis. She has 39 years of clinical experience that includes adult neurology and working with adults with vision loss and chronic conditions. She is the lead OT for the Low Vision Community Practice program at Washington University.

The webinar was being organized by the Foundation’s Professional Outreach Department which was created to educate eye care professionals throughout the U.S. about the many resources available to retinal degeneration patients including no-cost genetic testing and counseling, and the My Retina Tracker® Registry patient database.

For more information about the Foundation’s resources for eye care professionals, contact Michelle Glaze at mglaze@fightingblindness.org or (251) 654-9758.