Ophthalmic Biomaterials and Drug Delivery Systems

眼科疾病给社会带来了重大且日益沉重的负担。2009年，加拿大因失明造成的损失估计为158亿美元；目前，患有失明的人数超过100万，比乳腺癌、前列腺癌、老年痴呆症和帕金森氏症的总和还要多。这一数字预计将在未来25年翻一番。眼疾不仅会影响视力，还会对生活质量产生重大影响。有效给药的能力被认为是眼科最大的未得到满足的需求。主席将专注于开发眼部药物输送材料和表面。使用高通量合成和表征来生成材料库，Seardown博士将能够筛选大量材料，并最终开发出下一代眼科材料。

Diseases of the eye represent a significant and increasing burden to society. The cost of vision loss in Canada in 2009 was estimated to be $15.8 B; the number of people living with vision loss is currently more than 1M, more than breast cancer, prostate cancer, Alzheimers and Parkinson's disease combined. This number is expected to double over the next 25 years. Not only does eye disease impact the ability to see, it can have a significant effect on quality of life. The ability to effectively deliver drugs has been suggested as the greatest unmet need in ophthalmology. The chair will focus on developing ocular drug delivery materials and surfaces. Using the high throughput synthesis and characterization to generate libraries of materials, Dr. Sheardown will be able to screen large numbers of materials and ultimately develop the next generation of ophthalmic materials.