Beauty of Sight Foundation is pleased to announce its grant of $125,000 to sponsor the work of Alfonso L. Sabater, MD, PhD, Clinician-Scientist at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. Dr. Sabater, whose background is in clinical practice as well as translational research, aims to establish a Translational Regenerative Medicine Center in Corneal and External Eye Diseases. This center will have three main functions: research and development, clinical care, and education.
Two of Dr. Sabater’s research interests are cell therapy and regenerative medicine. The Research and Development arm of the Translational Regenerative Medicine Center will work towards these interests as they pertain to diseases of the cornea and external eye.
Several of Dr. Sabater’s proposed projects involve the use of a 3D printer to create a microscopic, biodegradable scaffold upon which the patient’s own cells, or lab-grown cells, can be deposited. This technique can be used to repair a patient’s conjunctiva, the vascular membrane covering the white of the eye, or cornea, the clear window of tissue at the front of the eye.
In addition to R&D, the proposed Translational Regenerative Medicine Center will integrate existing patient care clinics with a research-based clinic focused on corneal and ocular surface diseases that may benefit from future advanced therapy products. This facility will coordinate clinical studies, partnering patients in need of treatment with novel forms of therapy currently being investigated.
Finally, the Translational Regenerative Medicine Center will contribute, along with Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, in educating students, residents, and fellows in the field of regenerative medicine in corneal and external eye diseases.
Beauty of Sight Foundation is proud to support Dr. Sabater as he embarks on this ambitious project for the benefit of the medical community.
