Dr Di Huang
Dr Di Huang and her team aim to find a treatment for Stargardt disease (STGD1), a genetic eye condition caused by mutations in the ABCA4 gene. The researchers will study specific genetic changes in ABCA4 that lead to the disease and aim to develop a type of treatment called splice switching antisense oligonucleotides (SS‐AONs).
These SS‐AONs are like temporary “modifiers” for the gene and can be used to fix the gene’s behaviour at the level of its messengers (mRNA) without making permanent DNA changes.
Dr Jocelyn Drinkwater
Dr Jocelyn Drinkwater and her team will be testing and adapting RETFound, an artificial intelligence model, which detects diabetic eye disease and assesses heart disease risk from eye photos, on an Aboriginal Australian population, to reduce costs and increase screening availability in remote areas.
About the award
Helen was the founding CEO of the Perth Eye Hospital (PEH) in 1990, and also served as board member of the Eye Surgery Foundation (ESF) charity, in 2020 the ESF emerged into the Perth Eye Foundation (PEF). Helen’s leadership was enormously instrumental to the success of both organisations and is now recognised by naming the major grant each year as the Helen Smith Award.
Read about the award here: https://pertheyefoundation.org.au/projects/
