NEI’s Research Partnerships Around the World & Vision Loss Prevention Activities

John Prakash, PhD, MBA

Associate Director, International Programs

National Eye Institute- National Institutes of Health

Tel: (301) 496-2234; Fax:301-496-9970

Email: prakashg@mail.nih.gov

Department of Health and Human Services

World Sight Day 2012: From Vision Research to Vision Loss preventionOctober 11, 2012

1. Goals of the NEI International Program 2. Research Partnerships Around the World

Intramural Collaborations Extramural Collaborations

3. Sample Case Studies Trachoma Corneal ulcer Brain neuroplasticity

Contents

NIH MISSION STATEMENT

An agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the NIH conducts and supports medical research to uncover new knowledge that will improve the health of all Americans and the human condition throughout the world.

1. High-throughput technologies in genomics and nanotechnology

2. Developing diagnostics, preventative strategies and therapeutic tools through public–private partnerships

3. Reining in the costs of health care with comparative-effectiveness research and personalized medicine

4. Expanding research into diseases affecting the developing world

5. Increasing budgets and investing in training & peer review to achieve a predictable funding trajectory

“…to conduct and support research, training, and other programs with respect to blinding eye diseases, visual disorders, mechanisms of visual function, preservation of sight, and specific health problems and needs of the blind.”

NEI Mission http://www.nei.nih.gov/

Office of International Programs-Global Health

“Good Eye Research Anywhere is Good Eye Research Everywhere”

Broad Functions

Coordinate and support collaborative international research programs that focus on selected eye diseases of substantial health importance to the US and other countries

Maintain a knowledge base of the Institute's research programs and policies in coordination with the National Institutes of Health - Fogarty International Center (FIC)

Identify relevant programs of other federal domestic agencies, bilateral research agencies, multilateral research organizations, and volunteer agencies involved in international health activities

Advise the NEI Director on program relationships and opportunities for collaboration

Office of International Programs-Global Health

Three Goals for NEI International Programs

Goal I: Coordination

Address the daily needs of the international business and actively participate in the NIH and the USG wide programs that may affect vision research and training

Goal II: Research Collaboration

Foster a sustainable international research environment, expand collaborations in the countries across the globe that are interested in the advancement of vision research, and support international partnerships providing scientific value to the NEI-NIH programs

Goal III:Training

Develop human capital in the US to support the future needs in the areas of vision research and training, support mentoring activities for the next generation of scientists and professionals interested in global health and vision research

Goals

1. Goals of the NEI International Program 2. Research Partnerships Around the World

Intramural Collaborations Extramural Collaborations

3. Sample Case Studies Trachoma Corneal Ulcer Brain neuroplasticity

Contents

Summary of the Latest International Collaborative Activities at NEI-intramural

• >50 international collaborations, projects, affiliations, CRADAs, and other engagements on all 6 continents

• 40% collaborative engagements are in Asia, 35% in Europe and 25% in other countries

• 23 Major International Initiatives over past 2 years

• 6 Recent Achievements in Global Health Activities

• 10 International Partnerships & Collaborations

• 5 Current Memberships on Global Health Committees/Working Groups

• Currently training 66 international scientists and fellows

• 18 scientists trained in the past two years have gone back (to their native countries)

10

Major International Initiatives over Past Two years

11

Summary of New International Partnerships & Collaborations

1. US-NIH & UK-NIHR Collaboration with NEI, UCL and University of Bristol - UNITE

2. CRADA with Genomatix in Munich, GERMANY, to develop meta-analysis tools for “omic” data to identify novel biomarkers and to develop therapies for retinal and macular diseases

3. CRADA with Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, China

4. Indo-US Joint Working Group

5. Various ARVO – international group participation and support

6. Lowy Institution, Sydney, Australia. Participation in design & conduct of a natural history study & clinical trial

7. Retina Institute, Japan, Serving on the Scientific Advisory Board

8. Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris, France: Collaborations with several scientists

9. Cell Cure Neurosciences, Israel. Serving as a board member for the Medical Advisory Board

10. Singapore Eye Research Institute. Serving as a member of the Scientific Advisory Panel

12

Trained Scientists (18), (Gone back in past 2 yrs.)

International Scientists in DIR(As reported in June 2012)

Current Visiting Scientists/PDFs (66)

13

NEI Extramural ProgramsFunded NEI Grants – International Programs

Argentina Primary Open Angle GlaucomaAustralia Nuclear CataractCanada Retinal Stem CellsChina Genetics of Age-related Macular

Deg.Denmark Diabetic RetinopathyEthiopia TrachomaFrance Retinal Pigment Epithelial/Stem

CellsGermany Advanced Imaging for Eye DiseasesGhana Glaucoma Genetic Risk FactorsIndia Cornea Ulcers Trial

Project PrakashIsrael PhototransductionItaly Oxidative Damage to TM-GlaucomaJapan Macular DegenerationSwitzerland Nanofabrication technology/T cellsUK Various Eye Disorders

Supports 26 grants and 36 foreign sites in 15 countries

1. Goals of the NEI International Program 2. Research Partnerships Around the World

Intramural Collaborations Extramural Collaborations

3. Sample Case Studies Trachoma Corneal Ulcer Brain neuroplasticity

Contents

US Public Health Service officers examining migrants at Ellis Island

—slide (modified) courtesy of Prof. Hugh Taylor

Civilian Populations – Crowded Slums of Industrial Revolution

Avoidable Blindness:

Trachoma affects 11

Million People Worldwide

—photos courtesy of Emily West, STAR Study Team

Chlamydia trachomatis bacterial infection

STAR TRIAL - Eye Research Leads the Way: Single-dose Antibiotic Reduces Recurrence of In-turned Eyelashes after

SurgerySTAR Study - Surgery for Trichiasis, Antibiotics for Recurrence. An NEI-funded clinical trial partnered with ORBIS International. in

Archives of Ophthalmology, March 2006

—photo courtesy of Emily West, STAR Study Team

—slide (modified) courtesy of Prof. Hugh Taylor

Biannual Treatment of Azithromycin is Effective

145 million doses to date

Trachoma Vaccine ?

A new vaccine tested in monkeys shows promise against the disease.

• If successful in humans, it could be a very helpful tool within the global strategy

• NIAID, NIH-funded research

• J. Exp. Med. 2011;208(11):2217-23.

Treatment – Topical Corticosteroids Found To Heal Severe Bacterial Corneal Ulcers

Researchers found significant vision improvement—one and a half to two lines of

improvement on an eye chart—by using corticosteroid therapy on patients with

severe ulcers.

• Steroids for Corneal Ulcers Trial (SCUT) - Arch Ophthalmol:130, Feb 2012

• UCSF and the Aravind Eye Care System, in Madurai, India

• 500 participants with culture-positive bacterial corneal ulcer from US & India

• Randomized placebo-controlled trial from September 2006-February 2010

• Half of the patients received 1% topical prednisolone sodium phosphate

treatment and the other half received placebos.

• No difference in overall group, but a difference in severe ulcers subgroup

NEI-supported International Research

PROJECT PRAKASH

Project Prakash-Video

The NEI’s New World

Questions/Comments?