Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

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Vision

The Ottawa Hospital is conducting cutting-edge research to improve our understanding of vision disorders and develop better treatments. This page includes selected news stories about our vision research, links to researchers working in this area and related resources. Learn more below.

Research News

	Life, death and DNA tethering: research explores how the eye responds to stress December 13, 2023 - New research from Dr. Pierre Mattar’s group sheds light on what happens inside retinal cells as they die, in hopes of finding new ways to help these light-sensing cells survive.
	“Dream team” of researchers tackles leading cause of vision loss July 27, 2022 - Dr. Catherine Tsilfidis has assembled a world-class team to bring discoveries with game-changing potential to patients with retinal disease
	Meet brain and eye researcher Dr. Pierre Mattar April 25, 2022 - Dr. Pierre Mattar is doing the groundwork needed to develop treatments for vision loss
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	$2.4 M grant to help researchers develop gene and cell therapies for a leading cause of blindness September 15, 2021 - A team led by Dr. Catherine Tsilfidis has received $2.4 M from the Ontario Research Fund to develop treatments for retinal diseases, a leading cause of blindness.
	Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and Faculty of Medicine support three translational research projects through Blueprint Excelerator March 10, 2021 - The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the Faculty of Medicine are providing up to $150,000 in in-kind support to help translate three laboratory research projects into clinical applications. The three projects will receive support from th
	The Ottawa Hospital awarded six CIHR grants worth $2.6 million September 7, 2020 - Could a common diabetes drug help prevent ovarian cancer? Can a tailored screening program help prevent eye disease in immigrants? Is sepsis different in females versus males, and if so, can this help us develop better treatments? These are just a fe
	The Ottawa Hospital awarded 13 grants worth $11.2 million from Canadian Institutes of Health Research July 26, 2019 - Researchers at The Ottawa Hospital have been awarded 13 grants worth a total of $11.2 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The new projects focus on areas such as cancer immunotherapy, hepatitis C infection, blood clots, ar
	Scientist investigates how two gene mutations contribute to autism April 24, 2019 - Dr. Pierre Mattar received $300,000 from the Simons Foundation to investigate how mutations of two genes contribute to autism.
	Chaos in the nucleus: research on eye cells could provide insight into degenerative diseases August 22, 2018 - The nucleus of a cell is usually a highly organized structure, with more than a metre of DNA packaged very carefully into a tiny volume. A number of degenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, SCA7 and progeria are associated with a breakdown in n
	Exercise, eye exams help prevent falls in older people June 13, 2018 - Falls in older individuals can reduce quality of life and cause serious injury. Dr. Kednapa Thavorn was part of a group of researchers who published a meta-analysis in JAMA that identified the best ways to prevent falls in older people. After analyzi
	$870,000 to help develop stem cell treatments for septic shock, glaucoma, lung injury and muscle degeneration May 9, 2018 - Researchers from The Ottawa Hospital, CHEO and the University of Ottawa are bringing discoveries made in the lab closer to human trials and therapies, thanks to five new peer-reviewed research grants from the Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medi

Researchers

Name	Scientific appointment	Diseases, conditions and populations of interest	Research and clinical approaches
Freeman, Ellen PhD	Scientist (Clinical Epidemiology)	Aging, Vision	Epidemiology
Mattar, Pierre PhD	Senior Scientist (Regenerative Medicine)	Autism, Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system, Glaucoma, Intellectual disabilities, Macular degeneration, Retinal disease, Vision	Basic research, Bioinformatics, Cell therapy, Epigenetics, Gene expression, Genetics, Genomics, Model organisms, Molecular and cellular biology, Proteomics, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Systems biology, Transgenic/knockout models
Picketts, David Ph.D.	Senior Scientist (Regenerative Medicine)	Autism, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Intellectual disabilities, Multiple sclerosis, Stroke, Vision	Basic research, Disease models, Epigenetics, Molecular and cellular biology, Regenerative medicine, Stem cells, Transgenic/knockout models
Presseau, Justin PhD	Senior Scientist (Clinical Epidemiology)	Chronic disease, Chronic pain, COVID-19, Diabetes, Health equity, Hepatitis C, Immigrant and refugee health, Inflammatory bowel syndrome, Retinal disease, Vision	Artificial intelligence and data science, Health services research, Patient engagement, Psychometrics, Public health, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Rapid reviews, Transfusions, Transplantation, Behaviour, Psychology, Health professional behaviour change, Knowledge translation and implementation research, Health promotion, Cluster randomized trials, Surveys
Quinn, Matthew MD/PhD	Clinician Investigator (Neuroscience)	Vision	Big data
Thavorn, Kednapa BPharm, MPharm, PhD	Senior Scientist (Clinical Epidemiology)	Cancer, COVID-19, Diabetes, Gastrointestinal disease, Glaucoma, Global health, Health equity, Health in disadvantaged peoples, Health in older peoples, HIV, Immigrant and refugee health, Population health, Septic shock, Stroke, Thrombosis / thromboembolism, Vision	Clinical research, Cohort studies, Epidemiology, Health economics, Health research methods, Health services research, Knowledge translation and implementation research, Patient engagement, Pharmacy, Public health, Quality Improvement, Systematic reviews
Tsilfidis, Catherine PhD	Senior Scientist (Neuroscience)	Vision, Retinal disease, Glaucoma	Molecular and cellular biology, Disease models

Related Resources

University of Ottawa Eye Institute of The Ottawa Hospital

Department of Ophthalmology at The Ottawa Hospital

Search for clinical trials at The Ottawa Hospital related to this disease or condition.