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Ophthalmology research center marks 20th This year marks the 20th anniversary of a unique and highly respected eye care, research and teaching unit, MUSC's Center for Research on Ocular Therapeutics and Biodevices.  The director, David J. Apple, M.D., established the center in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah in 1982 and moved it to the Storm Eye Institute at MUSC in Charleston in 1988.  Members of Biodevices Center are Andrea M. Izak, from left, David J. Apple, Liliana Werner, Sverker Norrby (Pharmacia Corp.), Suresh K. Pandey, Luis G. Vargas, and Stefan Edstrom (senior director, Pharmacia Corp.). Front row are Maddie Manuel, left, and Rupal H. Trivedi.  Performing research in the fields of cataract—intraocular lens implant surgery and laser-LASIK surgery, the most commonly performed eye operations in the world, it is the only center in the world providing research, service and international post-graduate education in these fields. Liliana Werner, M.D., Ph.D., recently joined Apple as an assistant professor of ophthalmology. She specializes in biomaterials research on modern intraocular prostheses and artificial devices.  An important associated facility at MUSC is the Magill Research Center, co-directed with Apple by Kerry D. Solomon, M.D., associate professor of ophthalmology, who worked as a student with Apple in the early years of the center in Salt Lake City in the late 1980s and joined the Department of Ophthalmology in 1993.  One unique aspect of the center is that its basic day-to-day expenses have been almost entirely funded by the corporate and private sector.   “During the very early years of the center as we began to study intraocular lenses, federal (National Institute of Health) grant reviewers did not believe that cataract surgery with implants would be a successful procedure in the future and they turned us down for funding,” said Apple. “Therefore we were forced to go for funding to the major pharmaceutical and biodevice manufacturers who specialized in vision care. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We have received two decades of non-restricted funding from six of the major intraocular pharmaceutical companies and intraocular lens manufacturers in the U.S.A. and abroad, including Johnson and Johnson, N.J., Pharmacia Corp., N.J., Alcon (Nestle) Texas, Allergan (Smith-Kline) Calif., CIBA Vision (Novartis), Ga., and Bausch and Lomb, N.Y.”   Initial funding for the center was provided by Pharmacia Corporation, the eighth largest pharmaceutical company in the world. Originally located in Uppsala, Sweden, Pharmacia is now headquartered in Peapack, New Jersey.  In addition to providing funding for laboratory studies, which are processed through the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and the MUSC Foundation for Research Development, Pharmacia and the other companies provide an annual donation of $50,000 per year. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of continued funding from Pharmacia, Stefan Edstrom, senior director, Global Surgical Ophthalmology, and Sverker Norrby, Ph.D., Groningen, Holland, the director of research for Pharmacia flew to Charleston on Jan. 31. They presented their 20th consecutive donation.  “This funding helps support important research on the most common eye surgeries in the world, operations that have transformed the way we treat visual disability and blindness,” said Edstrom.  The success of the center is exemplified by the number of published peer-reviewed articles (355), posters (61), and scientific videos (67), presented at national and international meetings throughout the years of the center’s existence.   In addition, Apple, who is professor of ophthalmology and pathology and the Pawek-Vallotton Chair of Biomedical Engineering, has recently received several prestigious international awards. Werner, who received her medical degree in Brazil and her Ph.D. in Biomaterials Science from the University of Paris V (Rene Descartes), joined the department of ophthalmology in 1999. She is the team leader in basic and applied research performed in the laboratory. This includes experimental animal surgery and analysis of human eyes obtained postmortem from patients who have had implants. These eyes are sent to the laboratory by Lions’ Eye Banks nationwide for the purpose of research. Werner’s recent studies on artificial lens biocompatibility were instrumental in her being elected to the International Intra-Ocular Implant Club (IIIC Club) at the meeting of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons in Amsterdam (September 2001). She joins Apple and Solomon as South Carolina’s honorees in this society, which has 250 members worldwide.  Werner’s efforts with Apple and team have culminated in the generation of 28 peer-reviewed scientific publications in 2001. Werner has received 5 prizes at international ophthalmologic meetings.  Members of the research team in 2001-2002 include the following post-doctoral fellows: S. Arthur, M.D., D. Hoddinott,  Mike P. Holzer, M.D., Terrance J.  Kasper, M.D., Andrea M.  Izak, M.D., L. Ma, M.D., Tamer A. Macky, M.D., Suresh K. Pandey, M.D., Helga P. Sandoval, M.D., Josef M. Schmidbauer, M.D., Rupal H. Trivedi, M.D., Luis G. Vargas, M.D.   Marcela Escobar-Gomez, M.D., is the laboratory manager, Joyce Edmonds, is the histopathology technologist and Maddie Manuel is the center’s administrative assistant. Visual disability and blindness that is treated by cataract-implant-LASIK surgery will occur in virtually all human beings. The clinical significance of the center’s research in verifying anatomic-pathologic correlation and complications of these procedures continues to help surgeons avoid complications making these the most common and significant surgical operations in the field of ophthalmology. Works performed at the Center for Research on Ocular Therapeutics and Biodevices, directed by Dr. David J. Apple received the following prizes/awards last year: May 2001: First prize in the category Intraocular Lenses at the ASCRS/Alcon Annual Video Festival, Congress of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, San Diego, CA, USA, with the video “Pandey SK, Snyder M, Werner L, Apple D, Trivedi RH, Macky T - Interlenticular opacification: clinical and pathologic lessons for management and prevention.” May 2001: Best-Paper-of-Session Award (Session 1-K) at the Congress of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ASCRS), San Diego, CA, USA, with the paper “Werner L, Apple DJ, Pandey SK - Late postoperative opacification of 2 hydrophilic acrylic intraocular lenses.” May 2001: Best-Paper-of-Session Award (Session 2-O) at the Congress of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ASCRS), San Diego, CA, USA, with the paper “Kaskaloglu M, Werner L - Visual outcomes of patients with opacified hydrophilic acrylic IOLs.” May 2001: First Prize in the category Cataract at the Congress of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, San Diego (ASCRS), CA, USA, with the poster “Pandey SK, Werner L, Apple DJ, Solomon K, Snyder M, Brint S, Gayton J, Shugar JK - Interlenticular opacification after piggyback intraocular lens implantation.” September 2001: Second prize in the category Special Cases at the ESCRS/Alcon Annual Video Festival, XIXth Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, with the video “Pandey SK, Snyder M, Werner L, Apple D, Trivedi RH, Macky T - Interlenticular opacification: clinical and pathologic lessons for management and prevention.” Drs. Rupal Trivedi, from left, Andrea Izak, Liliana Werner, Steven Dewey and Suresh K. Pandey receive the "Best of Show Award" at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting. November 2001: “Best of Show Award” at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) meeting, New Orleans, LA, USA, with the video “Dewey SH, Werner L, Apple DJ, Pandey SK, Trivedi RH, Izak AM, Macky TA - Cortical removal by J-cannula irrigation to reduce posterior capsule opacification.”  SEI's Dr. David J. Apple The first and only American citizen selected to present the “European Guest Lecture,” at the Oxford Ophthalmological Congress in Oxford, England  November 2001: Received a $100,000 prize from the Alcon Research Institute for future teaching, research and service within his area of vision research August 2001: Received an Honorary Doctors Degree from the China Medical University, Peoples of China, the first given in the specialty of ophthalmology from that institution May 20, 2001: Inducted into the American Ophthalmological Society. One of only 200 members nationwide and the first ophthalmologist elected from South Carolina January 2001: Selected to give the most prestigious lecture in the field of cataract and laser (LASIK) surgery research, the Innovators Lecture.