Envisioning the future of eye care
The UCI Health Gavin Herbert Eye Institute’s opening in 2013 ignited a decade of growth in vision research and clinical care, achieving a long-pursued goal: establishing a world-renowned eye institute in Orange County.
Today the institute provides the full range of state-of-the-art ophthalmic services. It also conducts leading-edge research aimed at curing eye diseases and reversing blindness.
Future plans include launching new medical programs and a radical expansion of basic and clinical research efforts, says Baruch Kuppermann, MD, PhD, the institute’s director and the Roger F. Steinert professor and chair of the UC Irvine School of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology..
Kuppermann is particularly excited to be moving the eye institute's research operations to the Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation building. The premier research facility opening this spring on the university campus in Irvine will be the new home for its world-renowned translational research center, genomic editing program and other basic and clinical research endeavors.
We asked the specialist in retina and vitreous surgery to describe the institute’s extraordinary progress and outline what lies ahead.
What has fueled the extraordinary growth of the institute?
We have hired more top-notch clinicians to meet growing patient demand for our services. We also have recruited leading scientists who are working to discover cures for blinding diseases.
As we expand our surgical and laboratory spaces, we will be doubling our capacity to treat patients as well as conduct groundbreaking research. Today our faculty includes 26 physicians and 76 researchers, up from 15 and 23 in 2013, when we opened our doors.
What are some of the newer programs that have expanded vision care?
We now have an ocular oncologist leading our first eye tumor program. We have four neuro-ophthalmologists who treat vision problems related to the nervous system. This summer we will be welcoming a fifth clinician who is developing whole eye transplants.
Our new Irene and John Graether, MD, Endowed Vision Fellowship allows us to provide specialized training in pediatric eye surgeries. And for a second decade, our pediatric eye mobile, supported entirely by donations, continues to help save the eyesight of underserved Orange County children.
What potential research breakthroughs are on the horizon?
One of the most exciting research areas is genome editing to restore vision in people with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic condition that destroys the eye’s photoreceptors. We are working with Ray Therapeutics on a technique that involves a single injection of bioengineered proteins that are reprogrammed to act like photoreceptors.
That’s the promise of gene therapy: to be “one and done.” Patients with severe vision loss are being recruited for a phase 1, first-in-human clinical trial of the technology at the UCI Alpha Clinic.
How are your scientists approaching vision loss from age-related macular degeneration (AMD)?
We have developed unique ways to map the retina to better understand this disease. AMD is a type of central vision loss that affects 1 in 10 people over age 50. Our researchers are exploring the genetic underpinnings of the disease, which may lead to a cure.
Here, too, we are focused on the potential of stem cells to reverse damage caused by AMD.
What other innovative clinical treatment programs has the institute launched?
We’re one of only two programs in the nation — and the only one west of the Mississippi — to offer stem-cell transplants to patients with severe eye surface damage.
It is usually caused by contact with chemicals or extreme heat and often occurs in younger adults. Because cells that manage the healing process were destroyed when the eye was damaged, a cornea transplant isn’t possible.
However, we use immunosuppressant therapy based on UCI Health kidney transplant protocols to keep the body from attacking the transplanted cells, allowing us to restore some vision in these patients.
How will lab space in UC Irvine’s new Falling Leaves Foundation Medical Innovation Building help advance eye care?
The Falling Leaves building will be home to 12 high-impact, interdisciplinary ophthalmology research programs.
When our Center for Translational Vision Research and its Precision Genome Editing program move into the building, we will accelerate collaboration among geneticists and eye research specialists to develop more effective sight-preserving technologies. That collaboration and the investment in research taken directly from the laboratory bench to clinical bedsides will be instrumental in making further progress toward curing blindness.
What else is in the eye institute’s future?
We’re excited to be providing world-class eye care for Orange County and beyond. Our work has doubled over the last seven years. We see 100,000 patients and perform 5,000 surgeries annually. Those numbers are projected to double in the next five to seven years.
We also will be offering eye care services at our first satellite office in Brea this summer, with plans to add more clinical locations in the years ahead. Our goal is to bring leading-edge vision care close to people in their own communities.
Learn more about the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute ›
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