Macular Disease Foundation Australia (MDFA) has awarded a total of AU$300,000 to two groundbreaking research projects, marking a significant milestone in its 25th anniversary year.

Associate Professor Zhichao Wu was presented with the new MDFA 25th Anniversary

Award, which provides $200,000 to advance understanding of geographic atrophy (GA).

Professor Angus Taylor was the first recipient of the Elisabeth Macdonald Memorial Award, which provides $100,000 to support people living with macular disease in regional and rural Australia.

The awards were announced at a special event in Melbourne in June.

Associate Professor Zhichao Wu

ACCELERATING GA TREATMENT DISCOVERY

Assoc Prof Wu, from the Centre for Eye Research Australia and the University of Melbourne, will use funding from the 25th Anniversary Award on a project to test a new, more sensitive method of monitoring vision loss from GA.

By improving the accuracy of detecting and measuring changes in the progression of GA, Assoc Prof Wu’s research could accelerate the development and testing of new treatments in clinical trials.

Professor Angus Taylor

AI-ENABLED RETINAL DISEASE DETECTION

Prof Turner is an internationally recognised clinician and researcher. His research involves using images of the retina, artificial intelligence (AI), telehealth, mobile screening programs, and innovative models of care to help improve access to specialist eye care across regional and rural Western Australia.

With funding from the Elisabeth Macdonald Memorial Award, Prof Turner aims to further develop and evaluate an AI-enabled screening system, built into special cameras that take images of the retina. The aim is to help healthcare professionals, such as GPs and optometrists, more accurately identify retinal and macular diseases.

Since 2011, MDFA has invested $7.2 million into world-class Australian research.