| PROFESSOR ELIZABETH RAKOCZY, MSc PhD,
Deputy Director - Research
Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Science
University of Western Australia
Head of Department, Molecular Ophthalmology
Lions Eye Institute
rakoczy@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
Professor Elizabeth Rakoczy was appointed Deputy Director (Research) of the Lions Eye Institute (COVS LEI) in 1998 and is the founding Director of the Molecular Ophthalmology group. Professor Rakoczy was the first in Australia to apply molecular biological techniques in ophthalmic research. She has published more than130 scientific papers.
Professor Rakoczy has attracted more than $13 million in funding for research purposes from the Federal and State Governments, Non-Profit Funding Bodies and Commercial funding.
She has been a reviewer for numerous national and international funding bodies (NHMRC, NIH, JDRF and the Wellcome Trust) and for high quality journals (Nature Medicine, Nature Genetics, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Molecular Therapy and Gene Therapy).
Prof Rakoczy currently serves on a number of board sand committees including: Raine Medical Research Foundation; UWA representative at Animal Resources Centre Board (government appointment); Lions Eye Institute, Executive Board Member; Retina International Scientific Medical Advisory Board; Retina Australia, Scientific and Medical Advisory Council, Deputy Chair; Biosafety Committee, UWA, Deputy Chair; UWA, Animal Ethics, Committee Member; UWA, Members Faculty Research Committee; West Australian DNA Bank Management Committee; Council for the International Society for Eye Research; Conference organizing committee for the International Society for Ophthalmology and Cell Biology; Asia-ARVO International Advisory Committee; NHMRC Research Fellowship Selection Committee
Professor Rakoczy’s research has focused on retinal degenerations, Age Related Macular Degeneration and neovascular eye diseases. Her research interest covers stem cell research, gene therapy, gene discovery and the development of animal models for eye diseases. In 2005 her project “Gene therapy for the treatment of retinal dystrophy in the RPE65 knockout mouse using rAAV virus mediated gene therapy” was awarded “Ten of the Best” funded research projects conducted in Australia in recent years from the NHMRC.
|
| RESEARCH STAFF:CHOOI-MAY LAI, PhD
mlai@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
Tel: +61 (08)9381 0729
Dr. Chooi-May Lai obtained her Ph.D in Animal Virology at the University of Agriculture (Universiti Putra Malaysia) in Malaysia in 1985. Since moving to Australia in 1987, she has worked on National Health and Medical Research Council funded-projects at The University of Western Australia. She joined the Lions Eye Institute in 1996 and is currently the deputy head of the Molecular Ophthalmology Department. Dr. Lai is involved in generation and characterisation of animal models for ocular diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. She is also involved in design, construction and preparation of recombinant viruses for ocular gene therapy. Dr. Lai has published more than 70 research articles and book chapters and has presented her work at numerous national and international meetings. Dr. Lai has supervised a number of Ph.D, Masters and Honours students. She is a member of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, American Society of Gene Therapy and the Australasian Gene Therapy Society |
| | NICOLETTE BINZ, PhD
binz@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
Tel: +61 (08) 9381 0736
Dr Binz is the Lions Save Sight Foundation's Brian King Postdoctoral Research Fellow and the Senior Research Officer within the Molecular Ophthalmology Department's Diabetic Retinopathy Consortium, a part of the LEI's international partnership with the USA. Dr Binz previously worked at the School of Veterinary Studies, Murdoch University and the Australian Neuromuscular Research Institute, The University of Western Australia, where she worked in tropical medicine and on inherited diseases of muscle, respectively. Since joining the LEI her focus has been on developing better treatments for diabetic retinopathy, a major complication of long term diabetes. As part of this research, Dr. Binz has identified a number of new potential biomarkers that may be able to recognise patients at risk of developing diabetic retinopathy and those at risk of progressing to more severe vision impairment. Her current fellowship is aimed at validating these novel biomarkers, working towards a new diagnostic test for patients with diabetes.
|
| | MELA BRANKOV, MBBS
melabra@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
Dr Brankov, an overseas-trained Ophthalmologist is currently consulting as a Clinical Research Officer at the Lions Eye Institute. Her areas of interest include gene therapy for ocular angiogenesis and Aged Related Macular Degeneration. She is responsible for performing surgical procedures and clinical assessments on laboratory animals.
|
| | JOYCE EADE, PhD
Joyce.Eade@lei.org.au
Tel: +61 (08) 9381 0736
Dr Eade holds a BSc(Hons) in Biology and a PhD in Immunology and Molecular Biology from Murdoch University She is an experienced Molecular biologist and is involved in validation of gene array results; immunohistochemistry and in vivo studies. She is part of the research project on gene discovery for treatment of diabetic retinopathy.
|
| | MARISA DE PINHO, B.Sc. (Hons)
marisa@lei.org.au
Tel: +61 (08) 9381 0731
Ms. de Pinho holds a double major in Biomedicine and Molecular Biology and untertook her Honours project on DNA vaccine for Jembrana Disease Virus within the State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre at Murdoch University. Ms. de Pinho previously worked as a Research Assistant in the Tropical and Infectious Disease Department at Fremantle Hospital within the University Department of Medicine UWA, before joining the Department of Molecular Ophthalmology at LEI. She is now a Research Assistant involved in gene therapy for ocular diseases.
|
| | NINA VAGAJA, MBBS, BMedSci (Hons)
filipn01@tartarus.uwa.edu.au
Tel: +61 (08) 9381 0731
Dr. Vagaja completed her MBBS at The University of Western Australia and has worked as a medical practitioner in Joondalup Hospital's Emergency Medicine Department. In addition, she has also undertaken a year of research (BMedSci), gaining an Honours degree for her thesis entitled: "Identification of Genes Regulated by Accelerated Debris Accumulation in the Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells of the CatDM1 Transgenic Mouse". She is currently enrolled as a PhD student within the Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Science, The University of Western Australia. As part of her PhD research, Dr. Vagaja is continuing her work on Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), where her main interest is in understanding the factors that contribute to and the pathways that underlie the pathology of AMD.
|
| | IRENI ALI RAHMAN, B.Sc. (Hons)
ireni@lei.org.au
Tel: +61 (08) 9381 0731
Ms. Ali Rahman completed her undergraduate studies at The University of Western Australia, including an Honours degree in Biochemistry on "The Characterisation of STAT3 Isoforms and their Effects on Cardiomyocytes". She is currently enrolled as a PhD student within the Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Science, The University of Western Australia. Her PhD research focuses on "Endothelin-2 as a Potential Biomarker for Microvascular Diabetic Complications", particularly diabetic retinopathy and diabetic nephropathy.
|
|
