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Professor Jeremy Guggenheim

Professor Jeremy Guggenheim

Professor in Myopia Research

Email
guggenheimj1@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone
+44 (0) 29 2087 4904
Fax:
+44 (0) 29 2087 4859
Campuses
2.20, Maindy Road
Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Overview

My research is aimed at discovering the causes of short-sightedness (myopia). Approximately 1 in 3 people in the United Kingdom suffer from myopia, and the condition increases the risk of a number of serious eye disorders. I have contributed to collaborative efforts with researchers from across the world, leading to the discovery of more than a hundred genetic variants that increase susceptibility to myopia.

Nobody yet knows how most of these genetic variants play a role in myopia development, nor how best they can be used to target and improve treatment.

Biography

Educational and Professional Qualifications

1989-1992:      PhD, Cardiff University, UK

1988-1989:      PQE (Optometry), British College of Optometrists

1985-1988:      BSc (Hons) Optometry, UWIST (Cardiff University)

Career Overview

2013-2015 Assoc. Prof. & Assoc. Head, Optometry, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

2012-2013 Assoc. Prof., School of Optometry, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

2011-2012 Reader, School of Optometry & Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, UK

2006-2011 Senior Lecturer, School of Optometry & Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, UK

1994-2006 Lecturer, School of Optometry & Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, UK

Honours and awards

2012/2013 College of Optometrists, Biennial Arthur Bennett Prize for Outstanding Research Anywhere in the World

2022 Association for Research in Vision & Ophthalmology (ARVO) Gold Fellow Award

Professional memberships

1989 - present: Member of the College of Optometrists (MCOptom)

Academic positions

2013-2015 Assoc. Prof. & Assoc. Head, Optometry, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

2012-2013 Assoc. Prof., School of Optometry, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

2011-2012 Reader, School of Optometry & Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, UK

2006-2011 Senior Lecturer, School of Optometry & Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, UK

1994-2006 Lecturer, School of Optometry & Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, UK

Speaking engagements

Recent speaking engagements

Centro Oftalmologico Virgilio Galvis, Floridablanca, Colombia. 9 November 2021. “Recent developments in the genetics of myopia.”

Juzhou Symposium and international Myopia Conference, Chengdu, China. 27 October 2021. “Whole exome sequencing in 51,624 participants identifies novel genes and variants associated with myopia”.

Cardiff University Cornea-to-Cortex series. 24 March 2021. “Does education cause myopia?”

Manchester Optometry Meeting. 25 June 2021. Keynote Lecture: “Genetic prediction of myopia”

The Macular Society. Online Seminar. 30 July, 2020. “Current Myopia Research: from Bench to Kindergarten.”

Optometry Tomorrow, College of Optometrists. Telford, UK. 23-24 February, 2020. “Recent Developments in Myopia Research.”

UK Biobank Eye & Vision Consortium Annual Meeting 2020. Wellcome Trust, London. “Myopia Genetics Update.”

UK Biobank Eye & Vision Consortium Annual Meeting 2019. Wellcome Trust, London. “Evidence for widespread gene-environment interactions contributing to myopia.”

Ophthalmic Research Symposium, University of Tubingen Institute for Ophthalmic Research. 7 March, 2019. “The blurry line between genes and environment in causing myopia”.

19th DAKG Expertentagung & EurOK Congress, Hamburg, Germany. 20-21 October, 2018. “Epidemiology of myopia: Genetic and environmental risk factors.”

48th ECLSO (European Contact Lens Society of Ophthalmologists) congress, Mandelieu-La-Napoule, France. 14-15 September, 2018. “Epidemiology of myopia: Genetic and environmental risk factors.”

Committees and reviewing

University Committees

2015 - present:  School Research Committee

2015 - present:  School Research Audit Ethics Committee (Chair)

2017 - present:  College Data Strategy Committee

Editorial Boards

2012 - present:  Editorial Board Member, Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics (OPO)

2012 - present:  Editorial Board Member, Translational Vision Science & Technology (TVST)

2023 - present:  Associate Editor for Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (IOVS)

Grant Panels

2020 - present:  Fight for Sight UK grants assessment panel

Grant Reviewer

MRC, BBSRC, NIHR, Fight for Sight, Macular Society, College of Optometrists

Publications

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

Teaching

Currently I am module leader for the Investigative Technqiues undergraduate course.

Research Topics and Related Projects

Translating myopia genetics discoveries into strategies for early detection and mechanistic insight

Collaborators: Dr Cathy Williams (University of Bristol, UK) and Professor Kyoko Ohno-Matsui (Tokyo Medical and
Dental University, Japan).

This study is funded jointly by the Welsh Assembly government and the eye research charity, Fight for Sight. It aims to discover if genetic information can help detect patients with high myopia who are at most risk of developing sight-threatening changes such as myopic maculopathy.

The Consortium for Refractive Error and Myopia (CREAM)

Collaborators: More than 30 teams of researchers from across the world.

The CREAM consortium carry out collaborative projects designed to identify genetic risk factors for refractive errors. Projects are co-ordinated by working groups, involving teams of researchers with expertise in genetics, biostatistics and ophthalmology.   I co-Chair of the Astigmatism Working Group (with Joan Bailey-Wilson, NIH/NHGRI, USA) and the Longitudinal Studies Working Group (with Cathy Williams, Bristol, UK).

The UK Biobank Eye and Vision Consortium is a team of researchers working collaboratively to identify risk factors for eye diseases in the UK and to develop new treatments, by studying participants of UK Biobank.

Past Postgraduate Student (with degree and year submitted)

Michael Frost                 PhD                  2000

Natalie Davies               PhD                  2002

Jane Farbrother              PhD                 2003

Carolina Chan                PhD                  2005

Rosalind Creer               PhD                  2006

Tetyana Zayats MD        PhD                  2009

Yen-Po (Paul) Chen MD   PhD                2010

George McMahon          PhD                  2010

Chris Dillingham             PhD                  2012

Rupal Shah                    PhD                  2018

Yvonne Huang Yu MD    PhD                  2018

Neema Ghorbani Mojarrad PhD              2020

Alfred Pozarickij              PhD                  2020

Denis Plotnikov  MD       PhD                  2020

Supervision

Past projects