Retina Disease Interest Group
 

The Retinal Disease Interest Group (R-DIG) is a regularly scheduled journal club and discussion group open to clinicians and scientists interested in diseases of the retina.

Two diseases of the retina account for a significant proportion of vision loss among the elderly (age-related macular degeneration) or the working age (diabetic retinopathy) populations. Other conditions treated by surgical and medical retina specialists include macular holes, retinal detachments, and a wide array of inherited retinal dystrophies.

Retinal diseases are as complex biologically as any others in the body. The exquisite organization of the retina, its visibility in the living patient, the ability to make precise functional assessments, and a large number of inherited disorders hold the promise of understanding retinal pathobiology at a molecular level. Developing new treatments will require approaches encompassing vascular biology, cell biology, neurobiology, extracellular matrix, immunology, visual function testing, epidemiology, and outcomes research. R-DIG is intended for members with diverse interests and expertise to meet on a regular basis to develop a common language for multi-disciplinary retinal research.


Format and Scheduling

  • Presentations are given by faculty. Individual faculty may bring fellows or faculty guests to present on their time slot as appropriate.
  • Beth Busbey will contact the scheduled speaker one week before the schedule presentation to request a pdf of a journal for distribution. Photocopies of non-pdf articles are acceptable but must be transmitted for photocopying.
  • If the speaker cannot attend on the presentation day, the speaker is responsible for finding a replacement and alerting Beth Busbey.
  • Presentations are in Powerpoint format. Speakers bring their own laptop, and an LCD projector is provided. Presentations are forwarded to Beth Busbey for archiving and distribution.

Administration

  • R-DIG meets every third Tuesday at noon in the Medical Library at the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital (basement).
  • R-DIG scheduling and correspondence is handled by Beth Busbey, Administrative Associate, Department of Ophthalmology, 325-8640, bbusbey@uab.edu, Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital, Basement 105, zip 0009.
  • The format of R-DIG is a journal club, i.e., presentation of a paper from a high-quality journal. It is essential that speakers provide an introduction designed for a diverse audience.

Upcoming Schedule

    November 18, 2008     Xincheng Yao, Ph.D.
  December 9, 2008   Shanta Sarfare
  January 6, 2009   James Kimble, M.D.
  January 27, 2009   Steven Pittler, Ph.D.
  February 17, 2009   Christine Curcio, Ph.D
  March 10, 2009   Richard Mayne, Ph.D.
  March 31, 2009   Mike Loop, Ph.D.
  April 21, 2009   Alecia Gross, Ph.D.