UAMS Jones Eye Institute highlights gene therapy, telemedicine and outreach

Andy Davis of UAMS introduced Dr. Paul Phillips, director of the Jones Eye Institute, who gave an informational briefing on the institute's clinical services, research and outreach. Phillips outlined subspecialty services (glaucoma, cornea, retina and more), noted the institute performs thousands of surgeries and more than 60,000 visits, and highlighted its ocular genetics center and gene-therapy activity.

Phillips described gene therapy for select inherited retinal disorders—using Leber's congenital amaurosis as the leading example—and said gene-replacement injections into the eye can markedly improve vision in conditions where retinal structure remains intact. He noted such therapies are expensive ("probably about a million dollars now") but said companies generally work to ensure patients receive needed treatment.

Clinical outreach examples included the Marshallese 'Gift of Sight' cataract program that provides free evaluations and surgeries for Marshallese patients and a telemedicine program that captures retinal images during primary-care visits to screen for diabetic retinopathy; Phillips said more than a thousand patients have been screened through the telemedicine effort with over 200 identified as having diabetic retinopathy needing follow-up.

Phillips also reviewed training and research: a simulation lab for resident surgical training, fellowship expansion goals, and research output that placed the institute near the top-ten on a research-output–based measure. Committee members asked about gene-therapy scope and costs and praised the institute's contributions to access and training.

No formal actions were taken; the presentation was informational.