Gerstner:

LOUIS V. GERSTNER JR. CLINICAL RESEARCH CENTER IN VISION

Today, because of the rapid advances taking place in basic science, the underlying causes of vision disorders are better understood and the ability to develop new treatments for them is increasing. Future discoveries in genetics and molecular biology will point the way to saving the sight of millions, both in the United States and worldwide. The Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Clinical Research Center in Vision, scheduled to be opened in late 2003/early 2004, will give both basic scientists and clinicians advanced opportunities to test promising new ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of eye disease. These procedures require careful scientific design, standardized protocols and objective monitoring of data to guarantee accuracy and patient safety. The Gerstner Center will help guarantee that clinical research in the Department of Ophthalmology is in full accord with government, institutional and hospital guidelines.



Facilities for clinical study coordinators, patient examination suites and diagnostic instrumentation for the Center will be located in a newly renovated area of the Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute. The Gerstner Center will give patients the opportunity to consult clinicians who use sophisticated diagnostic technologies. The Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope, the confocal scanning slit microscope and Multifocal ERG and VEP, not offered by many medical centers, will be available to Harkness Eye Institute patients. Community physicians without access to such costly technology will be able to refer their patients to the Gerstner Center for advanced care and will receive an analysis of the results quickly via the Center's computerized information systems. With clinical research activities coordinated at a single location, it will be possible to expand and enhance the scope of interdisciplinary collaboration both within the University and with other academic medical centers. Partnerships with industry will also be strengthened in a united effort to develop novel methods of treating eye disease.


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