Beckman
MACULAR RESEARCH CENTER

Historical Background: Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of severe visual impairment and blindness in the elderly in the United States. In May 2001, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation approved our grant request for $10 million in funding over six years to establish the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Macular Research Center at the Doheny Eye Institute focused on determining basic mechanisms involved in the development of AMD.

Overview of Center: The Mission of the Beckman Macular Research Center is to advance the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of AMD through interdisciplinary basic science research programs focused on establishing the molecular basis of AMD. The primary goal of our research program is to establish the molecular basis of AMD using unique, focused, interdisciplinary approaches that bridge the interface between genomics, biology, and chemistry. The resulting knowledge will interface with and lay the foundation for development of novel therapies through a parallel Doheny-sponsored translational clinical research program which is funded, in part, by the matching program, including the additional $10 million raised by Doheny. This clinical research in macular disease at Doheny is also funded by other industry and government sources.

The Beckman Macular Research Center is directed by Stephen J. Ryan, M.D., President of the Doheny Eye Institute. The physical focus of the Beckman Macular Research Center is in the Center Core laboratories on the second floor of the Doheny Vision Research Center. There are four Beckman Investigators (Drs. Chen, Hinton, Langen and Triche) who oversee the three basic research programs described below. The Beckman Investigator laboratories are located in facilities in Doheny, the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Each laboratory contains state-of-the-art equipment, purchased, in part, from Beckman Macular Research Center funds. The Beckman Macular Research Center provides support to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and research scientists associated with each of the research programs.

Programs: Each of the research programs was developed to establish novel, high risk, interdisciplinary programs that cross traditional research boundaries.

  • Program 1 is directed by Drs. Ralf Langen and Jeannie Chen and is focused on establishing the molecular basis of drusen formation (extracellular deposits found in AMD). Drs. Chen and Langen have established a unified laboratory that evaluates formation of drusen using both biologic and chemical approaches.
  • Program 2 is directed by Dr. David Hinton and is focused on establishing the mechanism of choroidal neovascularization, the most important blinding complication of AMD, and the role of growth factors in AMD. Dr. Hinton has identified novel growth factors involved in AMD and has developed interactive programs with USC investigators with extensive translational experience to exploit these growth factor targets for possible new treatments for AMD.
  • Program 3 is directed by Dr. Tim Triche and is focused on determining genetic risk factors for AMD. Drs. Hinton and Trish have established a highly interactive program that brings together cell biology with advanced genomics and bioinformatics to study genetic predisposition to AMD in well characterized clinical populations.
  • Educational Programs. In Year 5, the Beckman Macular Research Center funded eight graduate student fellows and eight postdoctoral fellows, making this Center a major site for training students in macular degeneration research.

Contact us at: dhinton@doheny.org

Publications Supported by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation