Home | News | About ICO | ICOFoundation | Contact

ICO Leader Letter

July 2009, Volume 6, Number 7

1. Research is Key to the Prevention of Visual Loss

It almost goes without saying that basic and clinical research are critical to improving treatment of eye disease and to prevention of visual loss. Epidemiologic and operational research are also essential, particularly in developing countries.

Yet the training of ophthalmology residents in how to conduct research varies widely around the world. Sadly, in developing countries, where research could bring the greatest benefits, many ophthalmologists have little or no experience doing studies.

The ICO's Research Committee wants to help those who would like to learn more about research to develop their understanding and skills. The Committee has a new research "Primer" and other organizations, including ICO Members the European Association for Vision and Eye Research (EVER) and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) are also offering courses and other resources, described below. This month's ICO Leader Letter focuses on research, but please do not overlook item #6 - an update on the ICO Task Force for Uncorrected Refractive Error.

As always, please share this information widely with those who may be interested in research and let us know if you are aware of additional research resources to consider.

- Bruce Spivey, MD, ICO President

2. Clinical Research: A Primer for Ophthalmologists

I would like to introduce a wonderful new tool to assist beginning ophthalmic researchers: Clinical Research: A Primer for Ophthalmologists, written by ICO Director for Research, Alfred Sommer, MD.

This simple outline, or "primer," provides rudimentary guidance to the essential components of clinical research and may stimulate readers to seek more detailed, formal training.

According to Dr. Sommer, this publication was designed, "For those interested in delving into the basic epidemiologic and statistical principles and techniques underlying clinical research."

We hope that this primer will be useful for those who have not had formal research training. To download a copy of the primer, see: archive.icoph.org/pdf/PrimerClinicalResearch.pdf.

- Jean-Jacques DeLaey, MD, ICO Secretary General

3. ICO Research Committee News

The ICO Research Committee has focused its attention on helping ophthalmologists, especially those in the developing world; gain core skills in conducting relevant clinical and epidemiologic research.

We created the Research Agenda for Global Blindness Prevention (available at archive.icoph.org/research/agenda.html) to identify research opportunities that can benefit underserved populations of developing countries. It defines the priorities that would better inform control of blinding diseases, and the application and adaptation of existing technology to solve vision loss problems.

The Research Committee also has two new resources available, the above-mentioned Clinical Research: a Primer for Ophthalmologists, and Regulations and Ethical Considerations Related to Research, Particularly When Investigations Involve Human Subjects (available at http://icoph.org/research/regsandethics.html); prepared by Professor Nancy Kass, ScD.

Our plans for the future include publicizing existing courses in clinical research and finding ways to provide training in clinical research methods. I invite you to visit the Research section of the ICO Web site for more information: archive.icoph.org/research.

- Al Sommer, MD, ICO Director for Research

4. Courses on Research

I am happy to list a few courses that may be helpful for aspiring researchers: 

European Association for Vision and Eye Research (EVER):
Courses at the 2009 EVER Congress, September 30 - October 3 in Potoroz, Slovenia:

• Well-Versed in Statistics - Basics and Writing Skills, 30 September 2009
• Effective Biomedical Publishing, 30 September 2009

For a list of all courses at the 2009 EVER Congress, see www.ever.be/view_room_day_fill.php?ev_id=7.

Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO):
ARVO's Clinical Trials Education Series includes several one-day basic courses, advanced three-day courses and an online course. See www.arvo.org/EWEB for details and registration information.

• Clinical Trials, 3 - 5 September 2009; San Francisco, California
• How to Set Up and Manage a Clinical Trials Site, 23 October 2009; San Francisco, California

If you are aware of any other courses and would like to share them, please send them to research@icoph.org.

- Martine Jager, MD, Member, ICO Advisory Committee

5. More Research Resources

Here are a few additional research resources that you may find helpful:

• Epidemiology and Statistics for the Ophthalmologist (free download)
  Alfred Sommer, MD; New York: Oxford University Press; 1980. A presentation of epidemiologic and statistical techniques relevant to conducting, interpreting, and assimilating common types of clinical research. Now available on the ICO Web site, archive.icoph.org/pdf/EpidemiologyStatistics.pdf, courtesy of Dr. Sommer and Oxford University Press.


• 2009 ARVO/Pfizer Collaborative Research Fellowships
  Up to US $10,000--1 year--Application deadline: October 1 These new fellowships pair researchers from economically emerging countries with U.S. researchers. For details and application instructions, see www.arvo.org/EWEB/arvo/ARVOPfizerFellowship/Fellowshipprograminstruction.aspx


• ARVO International Advocacy Handbook: Tools to Influence Vision Research Funding
  James Jorkasky, National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR) (PDF 2.8 MB) Available for download at www.arvo.org/EWEB/DynamicPage.aspx?site=arvo2&=AdvocacyHandbook.


• United States National Eye Institute research resource list:
  www.nei.nih.gov/resources/

Would you like to suggest other research resources? If so, please send them to research@icoph.org.

- Al Sommer, MD, ICO Research Committee Director

6. ICO Task Force on Uncorrected Refractive Error

There are an estimated 153 million persons worldwide with visual loss from uncorrected refractive error. [See archive.icoph.org/pdf/WHOURE2008.pdf for the 2008 WHO report.] The ICO Task Force on Uncorrected Refractive Error (URE) was formed in 2007 to strengthen the involvement of the ophthalmic profession, in cooperation with others, to meet this challenge.

The first priority of the ICO Task Force on URE was to develop a strategic plan. Based on the plan, we started two pilot projects in Pakistan and Uganda in collaboration with LIGHT FOR THE WORLD Austria. These projects feature the provision of affordable, sustainable refractive services to communities and human resource development.

We are also in the final stages of planning a new initiative to address uncorrected refractive error through schools in Pakistan and Nigeria starting in 2010. We are anxiously awaiting word on funding for this project and I hope to report good news soon.

- M. Babar Qureshi, BMBCh, DOMS, MSc; ICO Task Force on Uncorrected Refractive Error Chair

7. Next ICO Meetings and World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC)

• ICO Board of Trustees: October 23, 2009, San Francisco
• ICO General Assembly: June 5, 2010, Berlin
• World Ophthalmology Congress®: June 5-9, 2010, Berlin (www.woc2010.de)
• Other future ICO Meetings: archive.icoph.org/lead/icomeet.html

More News

For more news of the ICO and international ophthalmology and resources for ophthalmologic leaders, see the ICO’s Web site at www.icoph.org.

Request for Other News and Resources

Do you have other news of international ophthalmology or know resources (particularly on the Web) that would be valuable to ophthalmologic leaders? Please let us know at leader@icoph.org.

Comments, Change of Address, Privacy Policy, Subscribe and Unsubscribe

Send comments and suggestions for the Leader Letter to leader@icoph.org.

You can read this and previous ICO Leader Letters online at:
www.icoph.org/news/leader_letter.html.

We do not share e-mail addresses with anyone else. Check our privacy policy at:
www.icoph.org/privacy_policy.html.

To subscribe to the Leader Letter, see www.icoph.org/news/leader_letter.html