View Annual Report - Jules Stein Eye Institute

UCLA Center for Eye Epidemiology
The UCLA Center for Eye Epidemiology, under the
direction of Dr. Anne L. Coleman, was established in
1998 to promote interdisciplinary investigations into
blinding diseases of public health importance. It is
supported by private donations including an endowment
established by The Ahmanson Foundation. The Center
maintains and improves vision health through public
health research and intervention, and serves as a
coordinating body for expanding and sharing information.
Center members have expertise in epidemiology, bio-
statistics, health policy, public health, and international
health. Members draw on their diverse backgrounds and
complementary skills to promote an understanding of
issues related to vision health as it affects individuals,
communities, and society. The Center encourages
collaborative research among faculty and investigators
from various UCLA departments and other institutions
around the world to advance knowledge related to the
causes and prevention of specific eye diseases.
Center to Prevent Childhood Blindness
The Center to Prevent Childhood Blindness, under
the direction of Dr. Sherwin J. Isenberg, is com-
mitted to reducing pediatric blindness. UCLA physi-
cians and basic scientists, including Drs. Leonard Apt
(co-director) , Gary N. Holland, Steven Nusinowitz, and
Irwin Weiss, collaborate on research, education, and
patient care programs designed to increase awareness
and help treat pediatric blindness. Significant emphasis
is on the development and evaluation of ophthalmic
medical and surgical options for children.
Center members are developing a new noninvasive
method of measuring blood gases from the surface of
the eye, which may be critical in preventing retinopathy
of prematurity, a leading cause of blindness in premature
newborns. In another avenue of research, the
Center developed a very inexpensive antiseptic solution
to treat pediatric corneal infections in underdeveloped
areas, and completed a study showing its effective-
ness in treating corneal ulcers that now blind more
than 400,000 children worldwide. A second study,
which evaluated the solution’s effectiveness in treating
fungal corneal infections, a major cause of pediatric
blindness in tropical countries, is now undergoing
statistical evaluation.
80 Programs | Research and Treatment Centers
Clinical Research Center
The Jules Stein Eye Institute’s Clinical Research Center
(CRC) was established in 1998, to provide core support
to faculty members who are conducting patient-based
research studies. This support involves vital, behind-thescenes
activities that facilitate the clinical research
process. Dr. Gary N. Holland serves as director of the
CRC; additional members of the Board of Directors
include Drs. Joseph Caprioli, Michael B. Gorin,
Ralph D. Levinson, and Steven D. Schwartz. The CRC
has a full-time administrator, Ms. Ellen Haupt, and an
in-house statistician, Dr. Fei Yu. CRC staff members
interact with granting agencies and government
regulatory bodies; assist with the preparation of grant
applications; participate in the design and management
of clinical studies; and perform data collection and
analysis functions.
Institute faculty members are currently conducting
more than 60 clinical research studies (listed in the
Appendices). Patients can volunteer to participate in
studies that contribute to a better understanding of
ocular disorders or that evaluate new, potentially better
treatments for various diseases of the eye.
Contact Lens Center
The Contact Lens Center, under the direction of
Dr. Barry A. Weissman, was created through a reorganization
of the contact lens service in 2002 to provide
patients with an expanded treatment program and
facilities. The Center serves patients with all ophthalmic
diagnoses that can be treated with contact lenses,
including nearsightedness and farsightedness, regular
and irregular astigmatism, and presbyopia. The Center
also treats patients who have had eye diseases that are
only optically or therapeutically approached with contact
lenses (eg, aphakia, keratoconus, post-corneal transplants,
corneal trauma, and infection).
The Center is one of several across the nation that
participated in the landmark Collaborative Longitudinal
Evaluation of Keratoconus (CLEK) Study sponsored
by the National Eye Institute. Other research conducted
by faculty at the Center includes contact lens wear
complications, such as neovascularization, abrasion, and
corneal infection; and systems of oxygen supply to the
corneas of contact lens wearers.