Dr Sam McLenachan at the Lions Eye Institute
Thanks to significant philanthropic grants from the Channel 7 Telethon Trust and Rhonda Wyllie, the Lions Eye Institute took delivery of Western Australia’s first and only stem cell robot, a gamechanger for researchers investigating the causes and treatments for inherited retinal diseases (IRDs).
The stem cell robot arrived in Perth from Switzerland in June 2023. Dr Sam McLenachan, a leading researcher in genetic eye disease and McCusker Laboratory Research Scientist at the Institute, has worked diligently with the Swiss manufacturer, Tecan, to create a bespoke model for the Lions Eye Institute; the only one of its kind in the world. The robot will enable Associate Professor Fred Chen’s team to find treatments for the many children living with inherited retinal diseases, including 2020 Little Telethon Star, Eamon.
Eamon and his younger brother Kealan both have Usher syndrome, which is exceptionally rare and cruel. Babies are born deaf, and towards their teens, they become affected by an inherited retinal disorder called retinitis pigmentosa that causes gradual loss of vision and eventually blindness.
Researchers at the Lions Eye Institute are working around the clock to find a cure for Eamon and Kealan. “With this vital piece of medical equipment, we will have one of the best systems in the country to expedite our stem cell research,” said Dr McLenachan.
How the stem cell robot will help
Stem cells can be grown into many different human tissues in the laboratory, allowing scientists to study the causes of diseases and develop new treatments, drugs and personalised medicines. This includes generating mini organs from human stem cells, known as organoids.
These organoids can be used as models for studying human diseases in the affected tissues, as well as for screening potential treatments. The robot will automate this stem cell work, accelerating the rate at which scientists can study the causes of disease and develop new treatments and cures.
Associate Professor Fred Chen said “The robot will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We estimate we are five years away from crucial scientific discoveries that could save Eamon and Kealan’s sight.”
The stem cell robot is a multi-purpose machine that can be used for research into a large number of childhood diseases, including cancer, diabetes and inherited diseases like cystic fibrosis and inherited retinal diseases. The robot is the first in Western Australia to be used for stem cell research into eye-related disorders.
Research Associate Di Huang with Associate Professor Fred Chen and the stem cell robot
High-throughput drug screening and disease modelling
During 2024, Dr McLenachan established automated stem cell culture and drug screening protocols on the Institute’s stem cell robot. This has generated more than 1,800 wells of patient stem cell-derived retinal cultures and enabled high-throughput screening of 280 antioxidant compounds in patient-derived retinal cells. The process is identifying a number of potentially therapeutic drugs for the treatment of an array of inherited retinal diseases, some of which are not being investigated anywhere else in the world.
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