Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Therapy for the Eye

Brian Ballios, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Research Associate and Resident Physician in the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, University of Toronto, received his B.Sc.Eng. in Engineering Chemistry from Queen's University in 2007. He then completed a combined MD/PhD Program at the University of Toronto in 2015. During his graduate work, he developed new approaches to the transplantation of stem cells and their progeny for the treatment of retinal degeneration. His interests lie at the intersection of retinal neurobiology and applied science, as related to stem cell biology and bioengineering. He developed the first injectable biomaterial-based delivery system for stem cell transplantation in the retina. In 2016, he joined the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences as a Senior Research Associate, while also completing an ophthalmology residency.

Michael Young , Ph.D., Associate Scientist at the Schepens Eye Research Institute, received his BS degree in behavioral neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh in 1989. He then received his PhD in anatomy/neuroscience from the University of Cambridge in 1995. A postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute of Ophthalmology, University College, London in 1995 was followed by a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. In 1998, Young joined the Schepens Eye Research Institute as an Investigator. He was elected the Director of the Minda deGunzburg Center for Ocular Regeneration. In 2008, he was promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School. He is now also Co-director of the Ocular Regenerative Medicine Institute at MEE/HMS.