On June 21st, 2017, Dr. Ilva Rupenthal of the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Auckland, was a visiting scientist in the German Research Foundation (DFG) Research Unit FOR 2240 “Angiogenesis, Lymphangiogenesis and Cellular Immunity in Inflammatory Diseases of the Eye”.
Dr. Rupenthal’s current research, co-funded by a Sir Charles Hercus Health Research Fellowship from the New Zealand Health Research Council, focuses predominantly on the development of stimuli-response ocular drug delivery systems with projects investigating implants responsive to ultrasound, light or a small electrical current.
Her talk was on the Buchanan Ocular Therapeutics Unit, of which she is the Inaugural Director. The unit aims to translate ocular therapeutic related scientific research into the clinical setting, whether pharmaceutical, cell or technology based. This presentation gave an overview of the research performed by BOTU team members investigating novel therapeutics and innovative drug delivery systems in the area of dry eye, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration management.Her visit was hosted by Prof. Philipp Steven, the principle investigator of central project C1 “Cologne Experimental Eye Imaging Center”.
