BroadEye: An Ophthalmology Podcast

In this episode, we sit down with Jason Menzo, CEO of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, to discuss his unique journey from the pharmaceutical industry to leading one of the world’s most impactful organizations in eye health. Jason shares insights on his career transition into the nonprofit sector and his commitment to advancing the Foundation’s mission. We explore groundbreaking initiatives like My Retina Tracker, a resource bridging patients to clinical trials, and dive into the Foundation’s bold vision for future treatments, including the potential of eye transplants. Plus, hear how the Foundation is fueling innovation by investing in promising small eye care companies and funding research to combat inherited retinal diseases.

In the exciting launch of Season 2 of the Broad Eye podcast, we explore the latest developments in eye care and share our personal journeys over the past couple of years. This season will focus on highlighting inspiring individuals and organizations that are making significant strides in ophthalmology, aiming to bridge knowledge gaps and enhance access to eye health.

 

Bruno discusses his innovative project, "Eye Station," a free eye screening initiative located in a busy mall in Brazil, designed to provide easier access to eye care screenings and education for the public. This social project aims to bridge the gap in eye care accessibility that the public sector struggles to meet, allowing individuals to receive essential screenings without the barriers of cost or inconvenience. 

 

Meanwhile, Shawn shares his involvement with several non-profit organizations, including the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) and the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB), as well as his exciting new book project co-authored with Paralympic athlete and educator Victoria Nolan. This book aims to serve as a comprehensive resource for individuals newly diagnosed with vision loss, filling a crucial gap in available information.

 

Together, we reflect on our experiences and the challenges we've faced, setting the stage for a season filled with compelling stories and expert insights that underscore the transformative power of accessible eye health.

In this episode our guest is Dagmar Jamieson, a mentor and life coach at CNIB. We discuss the challenges in everyday life as a visually impaired person, how that affects our social skills, are there any professional limitations and how does Dagmar cope with all those challenges.

Ariel Cao is the president/CEO and co-founder of Injectsense. We talked about the current challenges in the management of patients with glaucoma, still one of the major causes of blindness worldwide. Cao and his team developed an implantable intraocular device that can continuously monitor intraocular pressure. By providing accurate, clinically actionable information, physicians will be able to individualize therapeutic interventions for each patient, properly assess the effectiveness of glaucoma therapy, and ultimately avoid blindness. 

In this episode, we review differences in regulatory requirements for branded and generic therapeutic agents, and how these differences can manifest in eye care. Dr. Andrew Meagher sheds light on the subject using IOP-lowering glaucoma drops as an example.

Drawing on his experience in the clinic and keen attention to scientific detail, Dr. Meagher shares knowledge as Associate Professor at the Salus University, School of Optometry.

In this episode, we had the chance to talk with Dr. Farris about his charitable work in eye care both in the United States and internationally. For the past 20 years, he has led a team annually from Dean McGee Eye Institute to develop academic exchange and work with the local residency-training programs in China.  He has done the same in Africa for the past 11 years.

Dr. Farris is the 2021 recipient of the Outstanding Humanitarian Service Award by the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Professor Emeritus of Ophthalmology at the University of Oklahoma and Dean McGee Eye Institute. 

Dr. Duker is an accomplished ophthalmologist, that is now the Chief Operating Officer of EyePoint Pharma, a biotech company that develops sustained-release medications to treat serious ocular disorders. We talked about his career path and what motivated him to move from a clinical to an executive position. For the 21 years before he took the COO position at EyePoint, Dr. Duker was the Director of the New England Eye Center (NEEC) and Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Duker received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College. He completed a residency and fellowship in vitreoretinal diseases and ocular oncology at the Wills Eye Hospital.

What might come as a surprise to most people is that the visually impaired can draw!

Dr. Kennedy is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto and is especially interested in the theory of pictures drawn by people who are blind. The key idea is that lines in outline drawings mean the same thing to the sighted and people who are blind -- edges of surfaces, such as profiles of people and corners of cubes. These shapes are understood via touch as well as vision. We also talked about how drawing kits are now made available free to all children who are blind in the US and his book on the topic: Drawing and the Blind: Pictures to Touch.

In this episode, we learned how Orbis International is much more than a flying hospital. Using the latest technologies such as AI and telemedicine, Dr. Hunter Cherwek is leading a global initiative to train ophthalmologists and help eliminate avoidable blindness in low-resource communities.

Christian is the Head of Digital Therapeutics and Director of Business Development at Twenty Twenty Therapeutics, a joint venture between Verily Life Sciences, an Alphabet company, and Santen, a leading Japanese pharmaceutical company. We talked about the company’s vision to eliminate preventable blindness with technology that empowers patients to care for their own vision between doctors’ visits.