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QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute 2011 Annual Report Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute QUEENSLAND Index Mission and Vision Statement 3 Board of Directors 4 Chairman & CEO’s Report 6 PBF Farewells 8 Patient Stories 9 Madeleine Lenz 12 Scratching Below the Surface of Stem Cell Research 13 QEI’s Eye Catching Fashion Event 15 Queensland Eye Institute’s National Sunnies Day 10 November 2011 - Protect YOUR Pupils! 16 Clinical Report 17 Education Report 18 Research Report 19 Research Projects 21 Grants Awarded 24 Publications25 Conference Presentations 29 Our People 32 Thank you to our Donors and Sponsors 35 New Look Logo for Queensland Eye Institute 36 Ambassadors37 Summary of Financial Data Page 2 38 Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Annual Report July 2010 December 2011 Mission Our mission is to provide excellence in research, education and clinical care to reduce eye disease, improve eye health, and ultimately eliminate preventable blindness in the community. We will achieve this aim through our dedication to basic, applied and clinical research; teaching and education programmes to students, registrars, fellows, eye care workers and the general community; and the provision of specialist clinical services to both patients and other health care workers. Vision Our vision is that our Institute will be internationally recognised for its efforts in research, education and clinical care to reduce eye disease and promote eye health in the community. Page 3 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Board of Directors Mark Sheridan – Chairman Mark Sheridan is Audit Partner with leading Chartered Accountants Hanrick Curran in Brisbane. He has a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. He is also an Associate with the Australian Institute of Management. Mark joined the PBF Board in 2003, and was appointed Secretary in 2006 until April 2011 when elected Chairman. Mark Radford – Executive Director and CEO Dr Mark Radford has been Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer for the Queensland Eye Institute since March 2010. Prior to joining the Queensland Eye Institute, Mark was CEO and Managing Director of Symbiosis Group Limited, a science and biotechnology investment, management and commercialisation company. He also has been actively involved in corporate governance and management issues. Mark has both a Doctor of Medicine and a PhD and has extensive experience in medical research both here in Australia and Japan. Desmond Hancock – Director (Resigned 12 December 2011) Des Hancock retired as the National General Manager (Marketing and Sales) of Rothmans Australia after a 35 year career with the company, which included 10 years as State Manager, Queensland. He was Chairman of the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival from 1994 to 1997. He was a Board Member of the Queensland Government Major Sports Facilities Authority and spent 10 years with the Lang Park Trust, which he chaired for most of that time. He was appointed a Director of the Prevent Blindness Foundation in 1997 and Chairman in 2002 until April 2011 Lawrence Hirst – Director (Resigned 12 December 2011) Ophthalmologist Lawrie Hirst was the Executive Director of the Prevent Blindness Foundation and inaugural CEO of the Queensland Eye Institute until February 2010. He has been with PBF since 1986 and has been responsible for driving the growth of the Foundation for 25 years. Lawrie was Secretary from 1990 until May 27, 2010. He was appointed a Director in 1993. Page 4 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute John Young – Director (Resigned 27 June 2011) John is the retired principal partner of, and consultant to, Macrossans Lawyers, Brisbane. His areas of practice include business law and mining. He brings to the Board management and directorial insight through his appointments with companies including Thiess Holdings Limited, Peabody Australia Pty Ltd, and Thiess Peabody Mitsui Coal Pty Ltd. John served in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve for many years, culminating in the appointment as Commanding Officer (Reserves), Brisbane Port Division. John joined the PBF Board in 2007 and resigned in June 2011. Samantha Wilkinson – Director Samantha is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has post graduate qualifications in business and marketing from Queensland University of Technology. She is a Director of Allied Timber Products, a manufacturing company operating two sawmills in Queensland and New South Wales and has extensive marketing experience. Samantha joined the PBF Board in 2009 and was appointed Secretary in 2011. Brett Greensill – Director Brett Greensill is Principal of LJ Hooker New Farm. He brings a wealth of business skills to the Foundation with 13 years experience as an estate agent in the New Farm area and the owner of his own successful LJ Hooker franchise, ensuring his negotiation and marketing skills are first class. With exceptional people skills and a prodigious work ethic he remains committed to helping his community through fundraising and community awareness initiatives that bring solutions to the less fortunate. Brett joined the PBF Board in 2009. Page 5 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Chairman & CEO’s Report 2011 has been a hard year for a lot of people. In Queensland it started with the January floods, and has continued with economic uncertainty as international financial markets have been exposed to various stresses. Given these issues, it has been a challenging year for the Prevent Blindness Foundation (PBF). But with the help of our donors, supporters and staff, we have been able to continue our sight saving work. This year we held two major functions. The first was the awareness and fundraising ‘eye catching fashion event’ in June, featuring the Australian designer Camilla Franks and acclaimed singer Anna Maria LaSpina. The second was the inaugural National Sunnies Day on November 10, with an official launch in Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall. One of the enviable aspects of living in Australia, and especially Queensland, is our outdoor lifestyle. But as with many things in life there are potential downsides to this lifestyle. Just as excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays can damage our skin, so too can it damage our eyes. The aim of National Sunnies Day is to raise awareness of the dangers of excessive exposure to harmful UV rays and promote the use of sunglasses as a protective measure that will allow us to fully enjoy our lifestyle. The Queensland Eye Institute (QEI) worked together with the Department of Education to create primary school education kits about the eye, eye health and eye disease. Our Day was a success and we look forward to building upon 2011 in 2012 and to make it a staple feature of each year’s calendar. Our mission is to provide clinical care, educate all levels of eye health providers, conduct research, and find new ways to save sight and stimulate awareness of eye health in the community. This is a central focus of our clinicians, scientists and staff. Our clinical faculty (Professor Lawrence Hirst, Associate Professor Tony Kwan, Dr Anthony Pane, and Professor Ravi Thomas) provide state of the art care in their areas of sub-speciality, and continue to be active in research and training of eye specialists and optometrists. Our research faculty of laboratory scientists, visiting researchers and research students are led by Professor Traian Chirila, Dr Peter Madden and Associate Professor Damien Harkin, and are conducting a number of groundbreaking research projects. In July 2010, Ms Anna Blake took over the role of Practice Manager from Mr Peter Tassius who had been with us from the early days of QEI. Anna comes with a strong background in managing large ophthalmic clinical practices and has been instrumental in organising the processes necessary to run an efficient clinical practice. The PBF and QEI rely on the support and hard work of all our staff, so ably led by our General Manager, Ms Kelly Langdon, and Practice Manager, Anna. This year was no exception. This year we saw the retirement of Prof. Lawrie Hirst, Mr. Des Hancock and Mr. John Young from the PBF Board. Lawrie has been actively involved with the PBF for 25 years and was Executive Director and CEO until February 2010. Lawrie still remains involved with the Institute as part of the clinical faculty. Des has been on the board for over 14 years with the last 10 as Chairman. John was Continued Next Page Page 6 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Chairman & CEO’s Report continued a director for four years. The Foundation owes a lot to the dedication, support and hard work of these people. We have greatly appreciated their advice and guidance over the years. While we will miss their regular Board input, we know that their experience and suggestions can be called upon. We will also be looking to bring new Board members aboard and strengthening our governance and business analysis processes. As always, we are grateful to Mr George Curphey, Chairman of the Sylvia and Charles Viertel Foundation, and his fellow Trustees for their kind support. Their long-term and continued support has been critical to our success. We wish to also thank all our donors, large and small, for their generous support of our work. Without their support we could not do the work we do. Their continued support is essential for the ongoing work of the Queensland Eye Institute and its vision to improve the eye health of Australia. Some of our financial results are summarised in the charts and tables in the Annual Report. Our results each year are audited by BDO Qld. Their expertise adds to the financial and other internal controls we adopt in managing our operations, and their generosity allows us to access that expertise at a largely discounted fee. Copies of our audited financial statements are available from the Foundation. Please contact our General Manager if you would like a copy. With your support, we look forward to 2012 with great enthusiasm. Mark Sheridan Chairman Page 7 Mark Radford Executive Director & CEO QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute PBF Farewells It was with sadness and thanks that the Prevent Blindness Foundation said goodbye to two of its important supporters. Prof. Lawrie Hirst and Mr Desmond Hancock retired from the PBF Board after 25 and 14 years of service respectively. Here we look back at some of their memorable achievements over this time. Prof. Lawrie Hirst Lawrie has spent the last quarter of a century on the Board of the Prevent Blindness Foundation with the majority of that time as Executive Director. As CEO he oversaw the establishment of the Queensland Eye Institute and established a regular donation strategy for the Foundation. His work as an ophthalmologist also involved him in establishing the Queensland Eye Bank and he was invited to be the inaugural Professor in Ophthalmology at the University of Queensland. Prof Hirst has also been actively involved in the research, development and teaching of new surgical procedures including establishing the first anterior segment specialty clinic in Queensland, introducing teaching initiatives for Ophthalmologists and Registrars such as the Journal Clubs, Grand Rounds and Clinical Ophthalmology Workshops (COW) for medical students. He also brought to Queensland many new treatments including tissue adhesive, artificial corneas, Vitamin A and the use of sutures in lenses. Through his research into the role sunlight plays in many Australian eye diseases, Prof. Hirst pioneered the PERFECT for PTERYGIUM procedure for which he is now invited to teach all over the world. Prof. Hirst has been one of the guiding hands of the Foundation for the past 25 years, and without his help would not be where we are today. Mr Desmond Hancock Des was appointed a Director of the Prevent Blindness Foundation in 1997 and was Chairman of the Foundation from 2002 to April 2011. When Des took over as Chair he saw his role as stabilising the Foundation and embarking initially on a period of consolidation. This led to the great association with the Viertel Foundation, the expansion into the Annerley premises and the recruitment of additional Faculty to the present day numbers. He believes his steadying influence was necessary for that period and he hands over the Chair at an exciting time. He says, “There is no doubt the PBF is on the threshold of an exciting and expansive era and wishes the very best to his successors, Mark Sheridan and the new Board.” Des and Lawrie receiving their plaques of appreciation from Mark Sheridan for years of valued service to the Foundation. Page 8 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Patient Stories Shirley’s Legacy - the Gift of Sight Can you imagine being 17 (or any age), in hospital, lying on your back with both eyes bandaged for 3 weeks? Shirley Meyers suffered from Keratoconus (a disease of the Cornea) from the age of 12, and the only treatment available at that time was to have a corneal transplant when she was old enough. Between the ages of 17 and 18, Shirley had three corneal transplants. Each time the post-op treatment meant lying on her back for 3 weeks with both eyes bandaged, only to suffer the devastation of her body rejecting the donor tissue. This was pioneering treatment back in the 1960s. For the next 40 plus years Shirley lived with poor vision. Then in 2003 she was referred to the Queensland Eye Institute. At that time Prof. Lawrence Hirst was doing amazing things in both research and development of better surgical techniques, and under his hand Shirley received her 4th corneal transplant. The difference was amazing! This time her stay in hospital was just one night, there was only a patch covering the treated eye and the surgery was extremely successful. Shirley’s vision was even better than she’d hoped for. Shirley was extremely grateful for the gift of sight and wanted to give something back to those who had helped her. Shirley’s chosen way of giving is to leave a legacy so that with time and adequate funding for advanced research, poor vision will be a thing of the past. Shirley said that she has done this, “in sincere appreciation of the work being performed by the clinicians and research scientists at the Queensland Eye Institute to help them continue make amazing breakthroughs and to give people like me the precious gift of sight”. Page 9 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Beryl’s Milestone Celebration Makes a Difference Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping him or herself”. This is certainly true for Beryl Neilson. Beryl recently celebrated her 80th birthday, and instead of presents for herself she suggested that those who wished to give should give instead to the Prevent Blindness Foundation. Beryl comes from a family with a history of the eye disease Fuchs Dystrophy. Both her grandmother and mother spent the last years of their life without vision. Beryl also suffers from Fuchs Dystrophy and has experienced extensive eye treatment including two corneal transplants, but due to the many advances in eye treatment and research Beryl can now expect to maintain sight for life. Had today’s treatments been available for her grandmother and mother they may not have lost their sight. Fuchs Dystrophy is a disease of the corneal endothelial cells. These are cells on the back of the cornea that maintain its transparency; if the cells die, blindness can result unless a transplant is performed. Prevent Blindness Foundation is working on how to improve growing these endothelial cells so that better transplants are available. Beryl’s greatest gift to all on her 80th birthday was the precious gift of sight. Page 10 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute New Treatments Offer Hope for Saving Sight Sue is one of those happy-go-lucky, easy to talk to people you love to meet. Maybe partly because of her nature and partly from years working for the Police Department, Susan has learned to take everything in her stride. For Susan Chelepy, life with her police officer husband and two high achieving children was perfect. Then disaster struck: Susan and her son attended the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament and while watching a match, Susan’s eyesight began to fade. Firstly she couldn’t keep track of the ball, then all colour disappeared and by the time she got home half an hour later she had very little vision left. Obviously Susan was very frightened and thinking the worst. The very next day she was taken to an optometrist who immediately sent her to an ophthalmologist who was extremely concerned. To his credit, he felt her condition warranted someone with highly specialised skills in this area. He said “I can’t help, but I know of someone who might be able to”, and she was sent to Dr Anthony Pane, Neuroophthalmologist at the Queensland Eye Institute. Dr Pane had made a special study of optic nerve disease whilst undertaking his PhD research. Susan was put through many tests, including an MRI and a lumbar puncture, to ensure an accurate diagnosis. Dr Pane diagnosed a rare sort of inflammation in her optic nerve – the nerve of sight, which joins the eyeball to the brain. The unfortunate truth was that there was only a 50-50 chance of regaining sight, but at least Sue had a chance. Accepting this, she began treatment with high doses of immune suppressant medication. At the time Sue believe she might be facing a life of blindness. What happened next was, according to Sue, “like a miracle” – over the following two weeks her sight slowly returned until one morning she opened her eyes and could see the outline of her husband’s suit hanging on the wardrobe door. With somewhat disbelief, Susan began to feel a tiny hopeful spark that the treatment was actually working. Sue’s treatment has been highly successful, and her sight has completely returned. She is once again her happy self and will never forget the treatment she received at the Queensland Eye Institute. With your support, ongoing research here at QEI will continue to provide hope for people like Susan, whose conditions may previously have been thought untreatable. Page 11 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Madeleine Lenz A Woman of Vision In 1999 Madeleine Lenz consulted Prof. Lawrence Hirst with a minor sight problem. The pair hit it off straight away and Madeleine became extremely interested in Prof. Hirst’s plans to develop an academic eye institute which would have world class sub-specialists, scientists, research laboratory and teaching facilities to educate the people who would become the future of eye care in Queensland and beyond. Madeline with former CEO Lawrie Hirst at the opening of the Queensland Eye Institute in 2005. Madeleine had worked extremely hard in her lifetime including many years mining for opals in Lightning Ridge - an occupation unheard of for a woman in those days. She was also a very generous lady, and has done many good things for people and communities in her lifetime. Her interest in eye care and Prof. Hirst’s endeavours never waned, and on her death in December 2009 Madeleine left a very generous legacy to the Queensland Eye Institute (QEI). From this bequest, QEI hopes to offer fellowships in research and clinical care so that the work of eliminating blindness can continue. Page 12 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Scratching Below the Surface of Stem Cell Research By Assoc. Prof. Damien Harkin Over the last 10 years, there has been substantial interest in the popular press reporting potential benefits of stem cell research for the treatment of multiple diseases. I hope to bring some clarity to the debate by communicating to the general public in lay terms some of the latest findings from stem research in the eye. To begin, I need to point out that there has been much debate over how the term stem cell should be defined. From a practical perspective and for the purpose of this series, I will be referring to stem cells as those living components of tissues with the capacity to regenerate or repair parts of the body. Importantly, it must also be borne in mind that many scientists would argue that stem cells should also be defined by an ability to generate many different types of tissues including those foreign to their original site of extraction from the body. So what about the eye? Is there evidence that this pair of organs essential to the process of vision contains stem cells? The simple answer is yes, but the evidence varies widely according to which areas within the eye are being studied. In short, areas of eye which are required to undergo regeneration in response to normal wear and tear contain clearest evidence of stem cells. Close your eyes and think about where these cells might be. Now open and close your eyes five times quickly and think about what might be happening to the surface of both eyes. In performing this simple act, you have almost definitely removed a significant number of cells from the surface of both eyes, but have no need for alarm as we have stem cells located at the periphery of the cornea and within the conjunctiva which will replace those cells that have been lost. In recent years, researchers at QEI and other laboratories throughout the world have exploited this knowledge of corneal and conjunctival stem cells to repair the surface of the eye. Technically, these stem cells are referred to as “epithelial”, meaning that they are derived from surface tissues. The results from our initial clinical trials, however, suggest that in order to properly repair the surface of the eye we also need to find additional stem cells that are able to produce a foundation for the epithelial cells to grow on. We refer to these foundation stem cells as stromal stem cells and we have recently isolated such cells from the periphery of the human cornea. These corneal stromal stem cells remarkably display not only the ability to produce large numbers of new cells, but also display evidence of producing cells from other tissues such as bone and cartilage. The next step is now to show that the behaviour of these cells can be controlled sufficiently to enable improved treatment of patients. We look forward to the challenge, and hope within five years to bring this goal to fruition. Continued Next Page Page 13 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Techniques for growing corneal tissue in the laboratory rely upon the presence of cells which are normally involved in producing new cells in response to wear and tear. Within the retina, there is substantial “wear and tear” but this process is very different to what occurs in the cornea. Rather than losing whole cells as occurs on the surface of the cornea, the retina accumulates waste products within cell fragments which must be efficiently removed or else risk permanent damage. One of the primary sources of retinal waste are the allimportant photoreceptor cells which are required to sense light. Every day cellular fragments containing waste from photoreceptor cells are removed by an adjacent layer of cells known as the retinal pigment epithelium (or RPE). Under normal circumstances, the RPE efficiently removes the photoreceptor waste fragments, and the photoreceptor cells regenerate the required amount of material to maintain their function. Unfortunately the RPE, like the rest of our body, gets a little tired and sluggish with age and can eventually fail to remove the waste fast enough to avoid tissue damage. In a practical sense this damage means loss of RPE cells and photoreceptor cells. Such damage is associated with development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Outermost region of retina showing photoreceptor cells (far left) and RPE (brown layer of cells). While the causes and treatment of AMD are complex, therapies based upon the transplantation of healthy RPE cells are being considered as an option. Such therapies, however, will rely upon our ability to grow RPE cells in the laboratory and transplant them into the back of the retina without causing further damage to an already damaged eye. In recent studies at QEI, we have successfully learned how to grow RPE cells from human tissue and are now looking for a reliable material on which to attach the cells during transplantation. The challenges are great, but the rewards for our patients are potentially even greater. Page 14 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute QEI’s Eye Catching Fashion Event On Friday the 3rd of June Queensland Eye Institute hosted its first major event for 2011, the Camilla Franks Eye Catching Fashion Event at Cloudland, Fortitude Valley. The event was a sell out and was attended by over 300 people. Sponsored by Mercedes-Benz Brisbane and Treasury Casino & Hotel, Australian designer, Camilla Franks’ fabulous designs were paraded by well known Queensland models from the 70s to the present, including a former Miss Australia. Nine Network presenter Melissa Downes kindly compered the day, and Anna Maria LaSpina entertained guests with her magnificent voice. An amazing array of prizes was donated by generous corporate supporters for our auction and raffles on the day. Queensland Eye Institute would like to thank everyone involved in making the day a great success! Page 15 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Queensland Eye Institute’s National Sunnies Day 10 November 2011 Protect YOUR Pupils! 2011 saw the inaugural ‘National Sunnies Day’ campaign organised by the Queensland Eye Institute. The program is an exciting new educational fundraising initiative for primary school age children and aims to actively promote eye care and raise awareness to help eliminate blindness in the community. Certain forms of eye damage are preventable by simply wearing Australian regulated sunglasses in childhood. Queensland Eye Institute worked in partnership with Education Queensland’s various school regions to produce education kits which were especially developed for the school science curriculum for years 3, 5 and 7, teaching strategies for good eye protection. A YouTube competition also encouraged students to showcase their talents and newfound ‘eye knowledge’ to win great prizes for their school, with Eagleby South State School producing the winning entry. At the official launch in the Queen Street Mall, Julie Attwood MP (Parliamentary Secretary for Health) spoke of the importance of preventative programs like ‘National Sunnies Day’ for protecting the eye health of future generations. All money raised from the merchandise sales and fundraising activities for ‘National Sunnies Day’ went to the Prevent Blindness Foundation to help continue the research, education and clinical care being conducted at the Queensland Eye Institute to prevent blindness and preserve sight. We would like to thank all the schools and organisations who supported our ‘National Sunnies Day’. Page 16 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Clinical Report By Anna Blake, Practice Manager It has been a very rewarding and successful year in the clinic at the Queensland Eye Institute as we have continued to grow and expand our subspecialty services. With the majority of referrals coming from tertiary providers we have provided in excess of 16,000 services to patients. This has been assisted by the introduction of new equipment, including another field analyser which has helped to reduce patient waiting times. We have also made some physical changes to the front reception area helping us to improve the service we can offer to our patients by having more administrative staff available. The installation of a coffee machine in our waiting room area has also proven a great success. This past year has also seen the introduction of new technology to include Medicare online claiming. Accounts can now be lodged by our administrative staff directly with Medicare at the time of account payment. This eliminates the need for our patients to attend a Medicare office as patient rebates can be processed directly into nominated bank accounts. We look forward to the year ahead as we continue to focus on ways to improve service delivery and are faced with new e-health initiatives. A major upgrade of our IT infrastructure and software will allow us to have access to cutting edge technology, giving our doctors access to real time health information. This will help to improve continuity of patient care and service delivery to our referring providers. Page 17 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Education Report By Prof. Ravi Thomas, Director of Education In my second year as Director of Education I have had the opportunity to build and develop on the education activities undertaken at the Queensland Eye Institute. Grand Rounds continued to be one of the major education events organised by the Queensland Eye Institute. The Grand Rounds offer the ophthalmic community and training registrars an opportunity to participate in discussions on patient management and clinical care with live patients attending for examination. These evenings are always well attended with discussions covering topics such as Medical Retina, Uveitis, Ocular Oncology, Oculoplastics, Paediatrics, Anterior Segment, Surgical Retina and Glaucoma. After the success of the inaugural Optometrist Grand Round last year, the Institute has continued this initiative with the second event being just as successful as the first. We are excited to be including such a programme into our education curriculum. We have also introduced a new IT software for our Grand Rounds, which allows participants to login via their home computer from anywhere in the world. This is a great step forward as doctors in remote areas are now able to view and participate in the Grand Round lectures held at the Institute. Another highlight was the 42nd Annual Scientific Congress of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) held in Adelaide. All our faculty members attended with me, Dr Anthony Pane, Dr Tony Kwan and Prof. Lawrie Hirst all presenting at the Congress. Dr Tony Kwan also presented a poster on Surgical Techniques in conjunction with Dr IJ Lee, and Dr Jim McAlister together with his QEI team presented papers at the Cornea session. All courses were very well received and we were delighted when some of our faculty members were invited to speak again at the 26th Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Conference in Sydney. Lectures and courses are an integral part of our education program here at the Prevent Blindness Foundation. We pride ourselves on providing a high level of training to not only our immediate community but also to the wider Asia-Pacific Region. We again travelled to India for teaching sessions on Glaucoma Diagnostics, Detection of Progression and Critical Analysis with case discussions. I personally had the honour of being asked to speak at the South African Glaucoma Society, where I presented seven lectures at their Annual Conference in Cape Town. The Institute continued its dedication to the teaching of medical students and we again have had the opportunity to instruct a number of medical students here at the wet lab facility. The Institute also hosted two visiting health care professionals during the year, the first being a 5th year medical student from Bond University with the other a visiting doctor from Vietnam. Both spent time with our clinicians learning new skills and procedures. It has been an exciting year for education and I look forward to future opportunities to learn and share knowledge so that ultimately we will be able to eliminate preventable blindness in the community. Page 18 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Research Report By Prof. Traian Chirila, Chief Scientist Our research activities expanded significantly over the period of this report. In the QEI’s laboratories, the scientists successfully continued the development of artificial substrates based on silk fibroin for creating tissue-engineered constructs to be used in the restoration of a damaged ocular surface or in the management of certain corneal and retinal pathologies. We established a method to isolate fibroin from wild silk, which displays enhanced cell adhesion due to a structure different from the domesticated silk fibroin. Our results on cultivating corneal and retinal cells on fibroin have been published in 6 articles, including a leading opinion paper in the journal Biomaterials, the highest ranked journal in this field. The activities in this project benefited from the expert guidance of Assoc. Prof. Damien Harkin of QUT, a Visiting Scientist at QEI, and involved valuable contributions from Dr Karina George and our PhD student Laura Bray, who is now in her final stage of being awarded the doctoral degree. Currently we are preparing the first experiments in an animal eye model, scheduled for 2012. A new research project commenced regarding the development of an artificial corneal endothelium based on the concept of an electro osmotic flow through the intercellular tight junctions. In this project we assured the collaboration of scientists at the prestigious GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany. Under my supervision and involving collaboration with UQ and the University of Western Australia (UWA), the project on biodegradable hydrogels for biomedical applications has been finalized; it resulted in a PhD degree (Stefan Paterson through UWA), 5 papers published, and a methodology for using synthetic peptides as degradable crosslinks. Also finalized under my supervision, and involving collaborations with UQ, QUT and CSIRO, has been a project on the development of ocular biomaterials with reduced calcification capacity. The lengthy concluding report has been accepted for publication in Journal of Applied Polymer Science, in which we demonstrated that the creation of interpenetrating polymer networks is a valid approach. Working with my student Hui Hui Lee (PhD through UQ) and in collaboration with Professor Meijer’s group at the Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands, we obtained exciting results in our project of developing self-healing hydrogels as vitreous substitutes or surgical viscoelastics. We demonstrated the validity of joining the polymer chains through multiple hydrogen bonds in order to promote a self-assembling process leading to gels with selfhealing properties. We published the theoretical background of the multiple-point hydrogen bonding in the prestigious Journal of Physical Chemistry, and currently a manuscript is in preparation regarding the synthesis and characterization of the hydrogels. Our scientists have attended 8 national and international conferences, where they presented 15 communications. Five overseas students have done their internship (3 to 4 months) in our laboratories, all coming from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Marseille, France. The QEI’s management has recently arranged a cooperation agreement with this institution, and 3 additional students will do their internship at QEI in 2012. Continued Next Page Page 19 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Research Report continued In the area of clinical research, Professors Hirst and Thomas continued their work in the fields where they are recognized worldwide as authorities: pterygium and anterior segment pathologies, and glaucoma and clinical epidemiology respectively. Professor Thomas expanded considerably his collaborative projects with ophthalmologists and scientists in China. In terms of number of publications, he is currently the most prolific author at QEI. Dr Anthony Pane was recently awarded a PhD degree by UQ for his seven-year research project into optic nerve disease. Both this nerve, which joins the eyeball to the brain, and the nearby areas of the brain, can be affected by diseases leading to blindness or even death. Dr Pane has developed a new methodology for assessing patients with optic nerve disease, which has been passed to all eye specialists in Australia and New Zealand. Thanks to this important research, many patients may now be spared unnecessary blindness, disability or death. Our scientists and clinicians made sustained efforts to obtain research funding from various granting bodies. However, some of our research grants have been completed during this period. Currently, the scientists and the management are working on improved strategies to pursue grants more successfully. It is planned that at least 3 applications for funding will be submitted in 2012. Page 20 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Research Projects Project Title Development of silk fibroin substrates for growing corneal cells Investigators Associate Professor Damien Harkin, Professor Traian Chirila, Dr Peter Madden, Dr Zainuddin, Professor Lawrence Hirst Project Title Development of silk fibroin substrates for growing retinal epithelial cells Investigators Associate Professor Anthony Kwan, Sean Cheng, Associate Professor Damien Harkin, Professor Traian Chirila Project Title Studies of phagocytic response of the rpe cells to igfbp family of proteins Investigators Associate Professor Damien Harkin, Dr Louise Ainscough Project Title Application of collagen crosslinking in the treatment of keratoconus Investigators Dr Peter Madden, Professor Traian Chirila, Dr Jim McAlister, Dr Fiona Li, Dr Zainuddin, Professor Lawrence Hirst Project Title Self-healing gels as a novel concept of artificial vitreous substitute Investigators Professor Traian Chirila, Professor Andrew Whittaker, Bronwin Dargaville Project Title Retrospective study of sutured-in iol Investigators Professor Andrew McAllister, Professor Lawrence Hirst Project Title P.E.R.F.E.C.T. for PTERYGIUM® Investigators Professor Lawrence Hirst Project Title A biological examination of tissue removed using PTERYGIUM® procedure Investigators Professor Lawrence Hirst, Dr Louise Ainscough, Associate Professor Damien Harkin Project Title Hyperaemic response Investigators Liam Turner, Professor Lawrence Hirst Project Title Retrospective analysis of corneal transplantation Investigators Professor Lawrence Hirst Project Title COSMESIS of P.E.R.F.E.C.T. for PTERYGIUM® Investigators Professor Lawrence Hirst Project Title Paecilomyces keratitis/endophthalmitis Investigators Professor Lawrence Hirst P.E.R.F.E.C.T. for Continued Next Page Page 21 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Research Projects continued Project Title Improved instrumentation for corneal transplantation Investigators Professor Lawrence Hirst, Tony Horstman Project Title Surgical model for removal of eyes in eyebanks Investigators Professor Lawrence Hirst, Tony Horstman Project Title The effect of glaucoma and amd on driving and balance Investigators Joanne Wood, Alex Black, Associate Professor Anthony Kwan, Professor Ravi Thomas Project Title The role of frequency doubling perimetry in the detection of ocular pathology in vision centres Investigators Professor Ravi Thomas, Shobha Naveen, Praveen Nirmalan Project Title Genetic studies in glaucoma Investigators Subho Chakrabati, Inderjeet Kaur, Professor Ravi Thomas Project Title Glaucoma diagnostics Investigators Rajul Parikh, Professor Ravi Thomas Project Title Slow release delivery of biological immunosuppressant agents for cornea and ocular surface disease control Investigators Dr Karina George, Catherine Gilbert, Mike Rathbone, Professor Traian Chirila, Ross Norris, Dr Jim McAlister Project Title A prospective analysis of posterior lamellar corneal graft outcomes Investigators Dr Fiona Li, Alex Abalos, Dr Jim McAlister Project Title A prospective randomised controlled trial of the comparative rotational stability of two commercially available toric lens implants in routine cataract surgery Investigators Christopher Stuart, Alex Abalos, Dr Jim McAlister Project Title A retrospective analysis of toric lens stability in routine cataract surgery associated with a normal or a diseased anterior segment Investigators Christopher Stuart, Alex Abalos, Dr Jim McAlister Project Title A prospective case series of moderate keratoconus in patients with pentacam pachymetry ranging from 340 to 399 µm Investigators Dr Fiona Li, Alex Abalos, Dr Jim McAlister Continued Next Page Page 22 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Research Projects continued Project Title A prospective randomised controlled trial to assess the efficacy of corneal crosslinking for moderate progressive keratoconus Investigators Dr Jim McAlister Project Title Comparison of the usefulness of several methodologies in the determination of recurrence of ocular surface squamous neoplasia after treatment with topical mitomycin C Investigators Alex Abalos, Associate Professor Damien Harkin, Laura Sinfield, Dr Jim McAlister Project Title Retinopathy of prematurity study by following early treatment protocol in a unit-based approach in Brisbane, Australia in 2008 Investigators Sean Cheng, Michael Forrest, Associate Professor Anthony Kwan, John McCoombs, Kristen Gilshenan Project Title Micro-haemorrhage and the pathogenesis of amd: examining possible mechanisms and therapeutics in a novel rat model Investigators David Pow, Nigel Barnett, Steven Taylor, Jan Provis, Associate Professor Anthony Kwan, Trent Woodruff Project Title Improving ophthalmologists’ detection and treatment of optic nerve disease (PhD Research) Investigators Dr Anthony Pane Project Title Amaurosis fugax analysis and education project Investigators Dr Anthony Pane, Dr Eve Hsing Project Title Primary health care provider eye disease misdiagnosis survey Investigators Dr Anthony Pane, Dr Michael Statham Project Title Corneal transplants by adding cells by injection on beads, not by surgery. Investigators Dr Peter Madden Page 23 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Grants Awarded Professor T. V. Chirila: Smart State Innovation Projects Fund (Queensland), National and International Research Alliances Program (2007-2010): “The International Biomaterials Alliance”, co-awarded with investigators from University of Queensland; Royal Brisbane Hospital; University of California at Santa Barbara, USA; Washington University at St Louis, USA; University of Warwick, UK; and Queen Mary College University of London. Professor T. V. Chirila: Australian Research Council, Discovery-Project DP0878615 (20082010): “Generation of peptidomimetic surfaces for biomaterials applications”, co-awarded with I. Blakey, D. J. T. Hill (University of Queensland) and C. J. Hawker (University of California at Santa Barbara, USA). Assoc. Professor D. G. Harkin, Professors T. V. Chirila and I. R. Schwab: National Health & Medical Research Council of Australia, Project Grant 553038 (2009-2011): “Development of a novel bioengineered tissue construct for repairing the eye”, co-awarded with Professor D. Hutmacher (IHBI, Queensland University of Technology). Assoc. Professor A. Kwan: National Health & Medical Research Council of Australia, Project Grant 569665 (2009-2011): “Using a unique model of human retinal disease to test novel therapies”, co-awarded with D. V. Pow, J. M. Provis, S. M. Taylor, N. L. Barnett and T. M. Woodruff (Centre for Clinical Research, University of Queensland; Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital). Page 24 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Publications Ben-Nissan, B., Choi, A.H., Green, D.W., Latta, A., and Ben-david, A., Synthesis of hydroxyapatite nanocoatings by sol-gel method for clinical applications, in Biological and Biomedical Coatings Handbook: Processing and Characterisation, S. Zhang, Editor. 2011, CRC Press: Boca Raton, Florida, USA. Pane, A.R. Development of a Clinically Valid Protocol for the Assessment and Investigation of Optic Neuropathy. PhD Thesis, University of Queensland Press, 2011. Green, D.W. and Ben-Nissan, B., Biomimetic applications in regenerative medicine: scaffolds, transplantation modules and tissue homing devices, in Handbook of Materials for Nanomedicine, V. Torchilin and M. Mamiji, Editors. 2010, Pan Stanford Publications: Singapore. p. 821-850. Hirst, L., Pterygium Surgery, in Clinical Atlas of Procedures in Ophthalmic and Oculofacial Surgery, D.M. Albert and M.J. Lucarelli, Editors. 2011, Oxford. p. 180-194. Abraham, L., Kuriakose, T., Sivanandam, V., Venkatesan, N., Thomas, R., and Muliyil, J., Correlation between ocular parameters and amplitude of accommodation. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 2010. 58(6): p. 483-485. Ainscough, S.L., Linn, M.L., Barnard, Z., Schwab, I.R., and Harkin, D.G., Effects of fibroblast origin and phenotype on the proliferative potential of limbal epithelial progenitor cells. Experimental Eye Research, 2011. 92(1): p. 10-19. Albis-Donado, O., Gil-Carrasco, F., Romero-Quijada, R., and Thomas, R., Evaluation of Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation through a needle-generated scleral tunnel in Mexican children with glaucoma. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 2010. 58(5): p. 365-373. Bhardwaj, G., Moran, K.T., Thomas, R., Williams, K., Jacobs, M.B., Martin, F.J., and Coroneo, M.T., Response to Letter on “Abusive head trauma”. Ophthalmology, 2011. 118(2): p. 430-431. Casadio, Y.S., Brown, D.H., Chirila, T.V., Kraatz, H.B., and Baker, M.V., Biodegradation of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) and poly{(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co[poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate]} containing peptide-based crosslinking agents. Biomacromolecules, 2010. 11 (11): p. 2949-2959. Chakrabarti, S., Ghanekar, Y., Kaur, K., Kaur, I., Mandal, A.K., Rao, K.N., Parikh, R.S., Thomas, R., and Majumder, P.P., A Polymorphism in the CYP1B1 Promoter is functionally associated with primary congenital glaucoma. Human Molecular Genetics, 2010. 19(20): p. 4083-4090. Chou, J., Ben-Nissan, B., Green, D.W., Valenzuela, S.M., and Kohan, L., Targeting and dissolution characteristics of bone forming and antibacterial drugs by harnessing the structure of microspherical shells from coral beach sand. Advanced Engineering Materials, 2011. 13(1-2): p. 93-99. Chou, J., Green, D.W., and Ben-Nissan, B., New slow drug delivery materials and systems for biomedical applications. Materials Australia, 2010(September): p. 38-41. Feigl, B., Mattes, D., Thomas, R., and Zele, A.J., Intrinsically photosensitive (melanopsin) retinal ganglion cell function in glaucoma. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 2011. 52(7): p. 4362-4367. Continued Next Page Page 25 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Publications continued Fong, A., Lee, G., O’Rourke, P., and Thomas, R., Management of neovascular glaucoma with transscleral cyclophotocoagulation with diode laser alone versus combination trans-scleral cyclophotocoagulation with diode laser and intravitreal bevacizumab. Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, 2011. 39(4): p. 318-323. Harkin, D.G., George, K.A., Madden, P.W., Schwab, I.R., Hutmacher, D.W., and Chirila, T.V., Silk fibroin in ocular tissue reconstruction. Biomaterials, 2011. 32(10): p. 2445-2458. Hill, D.J.T., Whittaker, A.K., and Zainuddin, Water diffusion into radiation cross-linked PVA-PVP network hydrogels Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 2011. 80(2): p. 213-218. Kanczler, J.M., Sura, H.S., Magnay, J., Green, D., Oreffo, R.O., Dobson, J.P., and El Haj, A.J., Controlled differentiation of human bone marrow stromal cells using magnetic nanoparticle technology. Tissue Engineering Part A, 2010. 16(10): p. 3241-3250 Keen, I., Lambert, L., Chirila, T.V., Paterson, S.M., and Whittaker, A.K., Degradable hydrogels for tissue engineering – Part I: Synthesis by RAFT polymerization and characterizatiopn of PHEMA containing enzymatically degradable crosslinks. Journal of Biomimetics, Biomaterials, and Tissue Engineering, 2010. 6: p. 67-85. Keen, I., Chirila, T.V., Barnard, Z., Zainuddin, and Whittaker, A.K., Degradable hydrogels for tissue engineering – Part II: Responses of fibroblasts and macrophages to linear PHEMA. Journal of Biomimetics, Biomaterials, and Tissue Engineering, 2010. 8: p. 89-102. Lee-Wang, H., Blakey, I., Chirila, T.V., Peng, H., Rasoul, F., Whittaker, A.K., and Dargaville, B.L., Novel supramolecular hydrogels as artificial vitreous substitutes. Macromolecular Symposia, 2010. 296(1): p. 229-232. Madden, P.W., Lai, J.N.X., George, K.A., Giovenco, T., Harkin, D.G., and Chirila, T.V., Human corneal endothelial cell growth on a silk fibroin membrane. Biomaterials, 2011. 32(17): p. 40764084. Pane, A.R. and other members of the ODAP team: Optic disc evaluation in optic neuropathies: The Optic Disc Assessment Project (The ODAP project). Ophthalmology, 2011. 118(5): p. 964970. Pane, A.R. and Hsing, Y.S., Amaurosis Fugax. Medicine Today, 2011. 12(3): p. 80-83. Paterson, S.M., Brown, D.H., Chirila, T.V., Keen, I., Whittaker, A.K., and Baker, M.V., The synthesis of water-soluble PHEMA via ARGET ATRP in protic media. Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry, 2010. 48(18): p. 4084-4092. Praveen, M.R., Shah, S.K., Vasavada, A.R., Diwan, R.P., Shah, S.M., Zumkhawala, B.R., and Thomas, R., Pseudoexfoliation as a risk factor for peripheral vascular disease: a case-control study. Eye, 2011. 25: p. 174-179. Rao, K.N., Kaur, I., Parikh, R.S., Mandal, A.K., Chandrasekhar, G., Thomas, R., and Chakrabarti, S., Variations in NTF4, VAV2 and VAV3 genes are not involved with primary open angle and primary angle closure glaucomas in an Indian population. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 2010. 51(10): p. 4937-4941. Stewart, C.M., Li, F., and McAlister, J.C., Late-onset, persistent Descemet’s membrane detachment following uncomplicated clear corneal incision cataract surgery. Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, 2011. 39(2): p. 171-174. Continued Next Page Page 26 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Publications continued Stewart, C.M. and McAlister, J.C., Comparison of grafted and non-grafted patients with corneal astigmatism undergoing cataract extraction with a toric intraocular lens implant. Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, 2010. 38(8): p. 747-57. Tejwani, S., Murthy, S.I., Gadudadri, C.S., Thomas, R., and Nirmalan, P., Impact of a monthlong training program on the clinical skills of ophthalmology residents and practitioners. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 2010. 58(4): p. 340-343. Thomas, R., Letter to Editor. Reducing endophthalmitis in India: An example of the importance of critical appraisal. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 2010. 58(6 ): p. 560-562. Thomas, R., Glaucoma in India: current status and the road ahead. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 2011. 59: p. 3-4. Thomas, R., Loibl, K., and Parikh, R., Evaluation of a glaucoma patient. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 2011. 59: p. 43-52. Thomas, R., Walland, M.J., and Parikh, R.S., Clear lens extraction in angle closure glaucoma. Current Opinion in Ophthalmology, 2011. 22(2): p. 110-114. Tran, K. and Thomas, R., Transcameral suture for tube cornea touch. Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, 2011. 39(2): p. 178-179. Vaddavalli, P.K., Garg, P., Sharma, S., Sangwan, V.S., Rao, G.N., and Thomas, R., Role of confocal microscopy in the diagnosis of fungal and acanthamoeba keratitis. Ophthalmology, 2011. 118(1): p. 29-35. Walland, M. and Thomas, R., Role of clear lens extraction in adult angle closure disease. Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, 2011. 39: p. 61-64. Walland, M.J. and Thomas, R., So what’s our angle on this? (Editorial). Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, 2010. 38(8): p. 743-744. Zainuddin, Chirila, T.V., Barnard, Z., Watson, G.S., Toh, C., Blakey, I., Whittaker, A.K., and Hill, D.J.T., F2 excimer laser (157 nm) radiation modification and surface ablation of PHEMA hydrogels and the effects on bioactivity: surface attachment and proliferation of human corneal epithelial cells. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 2011. 80(2): p. 219-229. Zainuddin, Strounina, E.V., Hill, D.J.T., and Whittaker, A.K., Magnetization-prepared NMR imaging of water penetration into poly(vinyl alcohol)-poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) hydrogels. Polymer International, 2010. 59(11): p. 1520-1525. Bray L.J., George K.A., Ainscough S.L., Hutmacher D.W., Chirila T.V. and Harkin D.G., Human corneal epithelial equivalents constructed on Bombyx mori silk fibroin membranes. Biomaterials, 2011. 32(22): p.5086-5091. Madden P.W., George K.A., Lai J.N.X., Rodriguez G., Harkin D.G. and Chirila T.V., Use of silk fibroin as a substratum for human corneal endothelium transplantation. Histology and Histopathology: Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2011. 26(Suppl.1): 19. Bray L.J., George K.A., Hutmacher D.W., Chirila T.V. and Harkin D.G., Fibroin-based materials support co-cultivation of limbal epithelial and stromal cells. Histology and Histopathology: Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2011. 26(Suppl.1): 339. Paterson S.M., Clark J., Stubbs K.A., Chirila T.V. and Baker M.V., Carbohydrate-based crosslinking agents: Potential use in hydrogels. Journal of Polymer Science, Part A: Polymer Chemistry, 2011. 49(2): 4312-4315. Continued Next Page Page 27 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Publications continued Sun H., Lee H.H., Blakey I., Dargaville B., Chirila T.V., Whittaker A.K. and Smith S.C., Multiple hydrogen-bonded complexes based on 2-ureido-4[1H]-pyrimidinone: A theoretical study. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2011. 115(38): 11053-11062. Thomas, R., Glaucoma section in “The state of the World’s Sight”, in International Agency for Prevention of Blindness Report. 2010. p. 58-60. Page 28 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Selected Conference Presentations Bray, L.J., George, K.A., Hutmacher, D.W., Chirila, T.V., and Harkin, D.G. Fibroin-based materials support co-cultivation of limbal epithelial and stromal cells. in Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine international society. EU Annual Meeting. 2011. Granada, Spain: Histology and Histopathology. Chen, Y., Sun, L., Thomas, R., Liang, Y., Fan, S., Sun, X., Li, S., Zhang, S., Li, N., and Wang. Long-term Fluctuation of Intraocular Pressure of Primary Angle Closure Disease Following Laser Peripheral Iridotomy/ iridoplasty. 16th Chinese Ophthalmological Society Annual Meeting. 2011. Guangzhou, China. George, K.A., Schue, F., Chirila, T.V., and Wentrup-Bryne, E. PLLA-Based Networks for Biomedical Applications. Pacifichem 2010. Honolulu, United States of America. George, K.A., Sinfield, L.J., Harkin, D.G., and Chirila, T.V. Controlled Porosity of Fibroin Thin Films Synthesised from Ternary Fibroin-PEO-Water Solutions for Corneal Regeneration. Pacifichem 2010. Honolulu, United States of America. Hirst, L.W. Breakfast with the Experts - Pterygium Surgery. American Academy of Ophthalmology. 2010. Orlando, United States of America. Hirst, L.W. Instruction Course presentation – Pterygium : The Outcome Measure is now Cosmesis, Not Recurrence. American Academy of Ophthalmology. 2010. Orlando, United States of America. Hirst, L.W. Instruction Course presentation – Pterygium : The Outcome Measure is now Cosmesis, Not Recurrence. American Academy of Ophthalmology. 2011. Orlando, United States of America. Hirst, L.W. Breakfast with the Experts - Pterygium Surgery. American Academy of Ophthalmology. 2011. Orlando, United States of America. Kwan, A.S. Retinal Vein Occlusions - recent trials and real-world treatment implications. Summary of trial results. Australian and New Zealand Society of Retinal Specialists Symposium 2011. Sydney, Australia. Kwan, A.S. Interpretation of Retinal OCT and Interesting Case Reviews. Australian Ophthalmic Nurses’ Association, 23rd Annual Conference. 2011. Brisbane, Australia. Kwan, A.S. Posterior segment OCT interpretation Orthoptics Australia Upskill Module 8: Ophthalmic Imaging Techniques. 2011. Queensland Eye Institute, Brisbane. Liang, Y., Rong, S., Meng, H., Fan, S., Thomas, R., Liu, W., and Wang, N. The Correlation between Intraoperative and Early Postoperative Intraocular Pressure of Trabeculectomy. World Glaucoma Congress 2011. Paris, France. Lin, Z., Liang, Y., Li, S., Mou, D., Fan, S., Wang, N., and Thomas, R. Peripheral anterior synechia reducing the opening of angle after laser peripheral iridotomy in angle closure eyes. 25th Congress of Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting. 2010. Beijing, China. Lin, Z., Mou, D., Liang, Y., Li, S., Zhang, R., Fan, S., Wang, N., and Thomas, R. Reproducibility of anterior chamber angle measurement of ultrasound biomicroscopy image. 16th Chinese Ophthalmological Society Annual Meeting 2011. Guangzhou, China. Madden, P.W., George, K.A., Lai, J.N.X., Rodriguez, G., Harkin, D.G., and Chirila, T.V. Use of silk fibroin as a substratum for human corneal endothelium transplantation. in Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine international society. EU Annual Meeting. 2011. Granada, Spain: Histology and Histopathology. Continued Next Page Page 29 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Selected Conference Presentations continued Pane, A.R. Essential Neuro-Ophthalmology Update for Your Practice (Keynote Speaker). RANZCO Queensland State Conference. 2010. Gold Coast, Australia. Pane, A.R. Neuro-Ophthalmology for Ophthalmic Nurses. Australian Ophthalmic Nurses Association (AONA) Conference. 2010. Brisbane, Australia. Pane, A.R. Accurate and Efficient Assessment of Diplopia. Neuro-Ophthalmic Society of Australia Neurovision Conference. 2010. Christchurch, New Zealand. Pane, A.R. An Idiot’s Guide to Neuro-ophthalmology. RANZCO 2010 Annual Scientific Congress. 2010. Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide Pane, A.R. MRI or CT? And what sort of MRI to order? Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress. 2011. Sydney Conference Centre, Sydney. Pane, A.R. Isolated optic nerve malignant lymphoma initially misdiagnosed as bilateral anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy with equivocal temporal artery biopsy. Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress. 2011. Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Sydney. Pane, A.R. Should all patients with optic neuritis be investigated for neuromyelitis optica? Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress. 2011. Sydney Conference Centre, Sydney. Pane, A.R. Keynote Lecture: Something interesting for a change. Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Alumni Meeting. 2011. Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne. Pane, A.R. Keynote Lecture: The bluffer’s guide to neuro. Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Alumni Meeting. 2011. Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne. Pane, A.R. Optic nerve disease diagnosis: do we really know what we’re doing? NeuroOphthalmology Society of Australia (NOSA) Conference. 2011. Stamford Hotel, Adelaide. Pane, A.R. Misdiagnosis of optic neuropathies by ophthalmologists in Australia and the United Kingdom: incidence, implications and possible solutions. Neuro-Ophthalmology Society of Australia (NOSA) Conference. 2011. Stamford Hotel, Adelaide. Pane, A.R. Investigation-negative Corticosteroid-responsive acute atypical Optic Neuropathies (ICON): incidence, clinical features, prognosis and classification. Neuro-Ophthalmology Society of Australia (NOSA) Conference. 2011. Stamford Hotel, Adelaide. Pane, A.R. Arteritic and non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy. Neurovision Conference. 2011. Stamford Hotel, Adelaide. Pane, A.R. Other optic neuritis variants, including neuromyelitis optica. Neurovision Conference. 2011. Stamford Hotel, Adelaide. Pane, A.R. Practical clinical approach to afferent disease. Neurovision Conference. 2011. Stamford Hotel, Adelaide. Continued Next Page Page 30 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Selected Conference Presentations continued Rong, S., Liang, Y., Meng, H., Fan, S., Wang, X., Wang, N., and Thomas, R. The Correlation between Early Post-operative IOP and Long-term Result of Trabeculectomy in Patient with Primary Angle-closure Glaucoma. 15th Congress of Chinese Ophthalmological Society and the 25th Congress of Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Joint Meeting. 2010. Beijing, China. Rong, S.S., Meng, H., Fan, S., He, Y., Wang, R., Cui, H., Zhang, Z., Li, S., Huang, Y., Sun, L., Wang, N., Liang, Y., and Thomas, R. Efficacy of Intraocular Pressure Guided Suture Tension Adjustment during Trabeculectomy: Preliminary Report of a Randomized Controlled Trial. 16th Chinese Ophthalmological Society Annual Meeting. 2011. Guangzhou, China. Thomas, R. Unravelling the Jargon of Journals with Saarie. Evidence based ophthalmology. 2010. Adelaide, Australia. Thomas, R. Risk Assessment and Application. Evidence based ophthalmology. 2010. Adelaide, Australia. Thomas, R. A Clinician’s Understanding of Health Economics. Evidence based ophthalmology. 2010. Adelaide, Australia. Page 31 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Our People Board of Directors Mark Sheridan Chairman (appointed April 2011) & Company Secretary Desmond Hancock Chairman (resigned April 2011) & Director (resigned December 2011) Dr Mark Radford Executive Director & CEO Samantha Wilkinson Director & Company Secretary (appointed April 2011) Brett Greensill Director Professor Lawrence Hirst Director (resigned December 2011) John Young Director (resigned June 2011) Management Dr Mark Radford Executive Director & CEO Ms Kelly Langdon General Manager Mrs Anna Blake Practice Manager Continued Next Page Page 32 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Clinical Faculty Staff Professor Lawrence Hirst MBBS, MD, MPH (Hopkins), DO, FRANZCO, FRACS, Cert AM Bd Ophth Corneal and External Diseases(until December 2010) Dr Anthony Pane MBBS Hons, MMedSc, FRANZCO Neuro-Ophthalmology Associate Professor Tony Kwan MBChB, MD, FRCOphth, FRANZCO Retinal Diseases Professor Ravi Thomas MD, FRANZCO Director of Teaching; Glaucoma and Clinical Epidemiology Dr Jim McAlister (Left August 2011) MBBS, BSc Hons, FRCOphth, FRANZCO Corneal and External Diseases Honorary Clinical Faculty Staff Professor Ivan Schwab MD, FACS University of California at Davis, Sacramento Medical Center Research Faculty Staff Professor Traian Chirila BEng, PhD, FRACI, CChem Chief Scientist Dr Peter Madden AM BSc, PhD Senior Scientist Assoc Professor Damien Harkin BSc Hons, PhD Visiting Senior Scientist Dr David Green (Left May 2011) BSc, PhD Research Officer Dr Jinchun (Fiona) Li MMedSci Research Assistant Audra Shadforth BSc Research Assistant Continued Next Page Page 33 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Honorary Research Faculty & Students Professor Emeritus Graeme George Queensland University of Technology Professor Andrew Whittaker University of Queensland Dr Beatrix Feigel Queensland University of Technology Professor Murray Baker University of Western Australia Dr Louise Ainsclough BA, BAppSc, PhD Research Officer Dr Karina George BAppSc, PhD Visiting Scientist Dr Mark Woolf BSc, PhD Visiting Scientist Dr Neil Richardson BAppSc, PhD Visiting Scientist Laura Sinfield BSc PhD Student Hui Hui Lee BSc PhD Student Peter Gillies BAppSc, MAppSc PhD Student Miriem Santander Borrego Masters in Science Research Student (PhD) Natalie McKirdy BAppSc(MedSC) Research Student (Postgraduate) Emily Shanahan BSc(BmedSc)(Hons) Research Student (Postgraduate) Page 34 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Thank you to our Donors and Sponsors As always, we are grateful to Mr George Curphey, Chairman of the Sylvia and Charles Viertel Foundation, and his fellow Trustees for their kind support. Their long-term and continued support has been critical to our success. The Prevent Blindness Foundation together with the Queensland Eye Institute would like to thank the following organisations for their generous support. It is through the generosity of our supporters that we are able to offer and grow the vast number of services available here at the Foundation. Hanrick Curran Fashion Event Mercedes Benz Brisbane Corcorz Hair Camilla Franks McKims Jewellery Design Treasury Casino & Hotel Nine Network Issada Cosmetics Anna Maria LaSpina National Sunnies Day Gold Coast Titans Laubman and Pank Bridge to Brisbane Grants Jupiters Casino Community Benefit Fund Thank you also to all our wonderful volunteers. Page 35 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute New Look Logo for Queensland Eye Institute Since its inception in 2005 the Queensland Eye Institute has built itself as a progressive, fresh and dynamic organisation with a distinct personality which is underpinned by its three core areas of work across research, education and clinical care. In 2011 we took the opportunity to refresh our image and rebranded the Queensland Eye Institute to reflect these attributes. Our new logo, with the three linked rings represents these areas of work. Page 36 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Ambassadors Di Cant - Brisbane fashion stylist, public speaker and fashion marketing consultant Di Cant, brings a touch of flare to The Prevent Blindness Foundation. Bruce Paige - Prominent Brisbane media identity Bruce Paige is passionate about giving back to the community through his work with Nine News. Our foundation is about people. The people who support us | The people who represent us | The people whose sight we save Page 37 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute QUEENSLAND Summary of Financial Data Extracted from Audited Financial Statements for July 2010 to June 2011 Prevent Blindness Foundation. Balance Sheet Comparatives Year 2011 2010 2009 2008 Cash and cash equivalents 2,909,160 4,077,265 4,336,228 4,598,501 Trade and other receivables 118,211 16,246 26,511 33,075 - - - - 151,490 192,533 78,016 77,513 Total Current Assets 3,178,861 4,286,044 4,440,755 4,709,089 Property, plant & equipment 2,280,645 2,487,285 2,757,249 2,811,378 - - - - Financial assets Other current assets Investments Intangible assets 39,181 45,328 63,503 11,293 Total non current assets 2,319,826 2,532,613 2,820,752 2,822,671 Total Assets 5,498,687 6,818,657 7,261,507 7,531,760 367,146 240,523 180,241 251,424 30,627 39,698 - - 397,773 280,221 180,241 251,424 5,100,914 6,538,436 7,081,266 7,280,336 Trade and other payables Provisions Total Liabilities Net Assets Page 38 Financial information is from July 2010 to June 2011 Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute QUEENSLAND Income Statement Comparatives Account 2011 2010 2009 2008 217,966 216,083 177,344 32,849 Bequests 84,394 345,000 63,000 126,370 Other donations 74,647 157,272 307,783 303,268 Sylvia and Charles Viertel Foundation 1,695,000 1,660,000 1,640,000 1,645,000 Interest and other income 732,151 599,880 559,763 404,775 2,804,158 2,978,235 2,747,890 2,512,262 109,183 170,302 168,238 93,263 2,148,228 1,740,878 1,444,540 1,122,791 Labour & mail out costs 440,482 302,502 257,356 187,190 Depreciation of research equipment 422,301 429,109 391,425 338,026 Professional fees 123,410 111,065 37,360 32,720 Occupancy cost 445,163 311,730 215,866 216,804 Labour5 288,936 215,080 173,843 126,000 98,758 77,853 76,075 45,578 165,219 162,546 182,257 169,597 4,241,680 3,521,065 2,946,960 2,331,969 (1,437,522) (542,830) (199,070) 180,293 Income Proceeds from appeals Total income Expenses Research cost1 Labour cost 2 3 4 Communication costs Other general expenses Total expenses Net opening Income 1 Contract labour and equipment 2 Research, teaching, clinical and support 3 Fundraising 4 Includes lease of laboratory and clinics 5 Administration Page 39 Financial information is from July 2010 to June 2011 Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute QUEENSLAND Cash Flow Comparatives Account 2011 2010 2009 2008 Cash flow from operating activities Receipts from supporters and donors 2,583,596 2,802,127 2,523,081 2,288,879 (3,712,874) (3,089,073) (2,656,528) (1,830,856) 170,709 195,192 260,742 219,805 (21) (19) (63) - (958,590) (91,773) 127,232 677,828 (198,859) (167,190) (336,295) (324,489) Acquisition of investments - - - Proceeds from disposal of investments - - 1,038,902 Payment for other non-current assets - (53,210) (8,356) (10,656) - - - (209,515) (167,190) (389,505) 706,057 (1,168,105) (258,963) (262,273) 1,383,885 Cash at the beginning of the year 4,077,265 4,336,228 4,598,501 3,214,616 Cash at the end of financial year 2,909,160 4,077,265 4,336,228 4,598,501 Payments to suppliers and employees Interest received Finance Costs Net cash from operating activities Cash from Investing activities Acquistion of equipment & fittings Acquistion of intangible assets Net cash from investing activities Net increase/(decrease) in cash held Page 40 Financial information is from July 2010 to June 2011 Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Assets $8,000,000 $7,000,000 $6,000,000 Property, Plant & Equipment $5,000,000 Trade Receivables & Other Assets $4,000,000 Cash & Cash Equivalents $3,000,000 $2,000,000 $1,000000 $ 2011 2010 2009 Income Souces 2011 8% 26% 3% 3% Proceeds from appeals Bequests Other donations Sylvia and Charles Viertel Foundation Interest and other income 60% 2010 7% 20% Proceeds from appeals 12% 5% Bequests Other donations Sylvia and Charles Viertel Foundation Interest and other income 56% 2009 6% 20% 2% 11% Proceeds from appeals Bequests Other donations Sylvia and Charles Viertel Foundation Interest and other income 61% Page 41 Financial information is from July 2010 to June 2011 QUEENSLAND Prevent Blindness Foundation Queensland Eye Institute Costs for Research, Education and Clinical Activities $2,500,000 $2,148,228 $2,000,000 $1,740,878 $1,444,540 $1,500,000 $1,000,000 $500,000 $ 2011 2010 2009 Labour Cost (research, education, clinical and support) Administrative Wages as a Proportion of Total Expenses 7% 6% 2011 2010 5% 2008 Page 42 6% 2009 5% Financial information is from July 2010 to June 2011 2007 QUEENSLAND QUEENSLAND