Events Highlights

For the ARCS Foundation Utah Chapter November event ARCS Member Monika Fleckenstein presented an overview of her research into age-related macular degeneration (AMD).  AMD is a major cause of vision loss in individuals over 55 worldwide, accounting for 6-9% of global legal blindness. Despite significant progress in clinical care and understanding pathophysiological mechanisms, AMD still presents a substantial unmet medical challenge. While progress has been made in treating exudative AMD, no effective solution exists for halting the irreversible photoreceptor degeneration responsible for central vision loss. High-resolution retinal imaging has enhanced our understanding of AMD's diverse clinical, pathological, and genetic aspects, revealing it as a spectrum of diseases with various mechanisms. Customizing treatments for specific phenotypes and stages holds promise for preventing irreversible vision loss in the future.

Monika received her medical degree from the University of Heidelberg School of Medicine in Germany and completed a research fellowship in inherited retinal diseases at Johns Hopkins University.

A long-time collaborator with Moran’s Sharon Eccles Steele Center for Translational Medicine (SCTM), Fleckenstein is the former head of the University of Bonn Department of Ophthalmology Clinical Trial Center in Germany. She is recognized as an international authority on the design, conduct, and analysis of clinical trials in retinal diseases.

Her particular research focus includes the characterization of AMD subtypes by high-resolution retinal imaging and medical sensitivity testing.