Retina4Future - COST Action CA24105

Short Bio: I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology (IOB) in Basel, working in the laboratory of Professor Carlo Rivolta, a leading expert in the molecular genetics of retinal dystrophies. My research combines gene discovery in patient-derived material with an independent focus on retinal formation and cellular ultrastructure.

Short Bio: Ahmet Okay Caglayan, MD, is a Professor of Medical Genetics at Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Medicine, Türkiye. His research focuses on genomic medicine, rare genetic disorders, and translational multi-omics, encompassing whole-genome and long-read sequencing, transcriptomics, and biomarker discovery. His work aims to elucidate the molecular basis of inherited diseases and translate genomic findings into clinically actionable biomarkers and precision medicine approaches. He has extensive experience in international collaborative research, biobanking, and multi-omics data integration. His expertise is highly relevant to inherited retinal diseases, particularly in genomic diagnosis, novel biomarker discovery, and the integration of multi-omics data with advanced computational approaches to advance precision ophthalmology.

Short Bio: I am an ophthalmologist and phD student from Kaunas, Lithuania, specialising in medical retina field. My current research activities include progression of age-related macular degeneration and AI in ophthalmic imaging. I also participate in AMD clinical trials projects.

Short Bio: I am a PhD candidate in Biomedicine at NOVA Medical School, working at the interface of biomaterials, cell biology and ophthalmology. My main PhD project focuses on microphysiological models and drug-releasing coatings for glaucoma drainage devices, aiming to improve local antiproliferative strategies after glaucoma surgery. In parallel, I contribute to retinal gene therapy projects in the Gene Therapy Lab, including work on RBP3 as a potential photoreceptor-targeting strategy for non-viral vectors in retinal degeneration, and ACE2 overexpression as a way to modulate the protective renin–angiotensin system axis in diabetic retinopathy. Together, my current research combines controlled drug delivery, retinal biology, gene delivery and disease modelling.