Retinal Degenerative Diseases: Mechanisms and Experimental Therapy

Book Preface

The International Symposia on Retinal Degeneration have been held in conjunction with the biennial meeting of the International Society of Eye Research (ISER) since 1984. These RD Symposia have allowed basic and clinician scientists from around the world to convene and present their new research findings. They have been organized to allow substantial time for discussions and one-on-one interactions in a relaxed atmosphere, where international friendships and collaborations can be fostered.

The XVI International Symposium on Retinal Degeneration (also known as RD2014) was held from July 13–18, 2014 at the Asilomar Conference Center in the beautiful city of Pacific Grove, California, USA. The meeting brought together 272 basic and clinician scientists, retinal specialists in ophthalmology, and trainees in the field from all parts of the world. In the course of the meeting, 43 platform and 159 poster presentations were given, and a majority of these are presented in this proceedings volume. New discoveries and state of the art findings from most research areas in the field of retinal degenerations were presented. This was the largest of all of the RD Symposia, with the greatest number of attendees and presentations.

The RD2014 meeting was highlighted by three special keynote lectures. The first was given by John Flannery, PhD, of the University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA. Dr. Flannery discussed “Engineering AAV vectors to target specific functional subclasses of retinal neurons and glia.” Dr. Flannery’s talk was the first named keynote lecture of the RD Symposia in 32 years, the Edward H. Gollob Lecture, named for the President of the Foundation Fighting Blindness. The second keynote lecture was given by Sally Temple, PhD, Director of the Neural Stem Cell Institute, Regenerative Research Foundation, Rensselaer, NY. Dr. Temple discussed “Endogenous RPE stem cells, their surprising plasticity and implications for therapeutic applications.” The third keynote lecture was given by Samuel G. Jacobson, MD, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Jacobson discussed “A treatment trial for an inherited retinal degeneration: what have we learned?”