Dimitra Skondra, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science and Founder/Leader of the University of Chicago Retina Microbiome Team, has been announced as a 2023 recipient of the prestigious Edward N. & Della L. Thome Memorial Foundation Award Program in Age-Related Macular Degeneration Research.
AMD is the leading cause of vision loss, affecting more than 10 million Americans. It’s caused by the deterioration of the retina, the layer at the back of the eye packed with nerve cells that captures images and sends them to the brain. The retina’s central portion, called the macula, is the most sensitive area responsible for focusing the center image of what we see. When cells of the macula deteriorate, people start to get blurred or hazy vision, and as the condition worsens, they can lose central vision altogether.
Skondra’s research focuses on the interactions of diet, the gut microbiome, and their potential for preventing and treating AMD. The exact role of diet in AMD is still unclear, but new evidence suggests that a Mediterranean-type diet rich in olive oil, vegetables, fresh fruits, legumes, and seafood slows progression of the disease. In new studies supported by this award, Skondra will investigate if a Mediterranean diet suppresses AMD features and how it alters the microbial composition and function of metabolites in the gut compared to a “western-style” high-fat diet. Her team will also study if fecal microbiota transplantation with gut bacteria derived from a Mediterranean diet can prevent or treat damage in the retina caused by AMD, leading the way to new therapeutic strategies for AMD that harness the microbiome for retinal health.
The research team is a collaboration of several investigators and core facilities at UChicago, including Eugene B. Chang, MD, Martin Boyer Professor of Medicine and Director of the Microbiome Medicine Program; Betty Theriault, DVM, Professor of Surgery and Director of the Gnotobiotic Animal Research Facility; Ashley Sidebottom, PhD, Director of the Host-Microbe Metabolomics Facility at the Duchossois Family Institute; and Dinanath Sulakhe, Director of Clinical and Translational Research Informatics.
“This important project is a testament to the strengths of UChicago for leading innovative research and multidisciplinary collaborations,” Skondra said. “I truly hope our work will provide important data to lead to new strategies to help our patients suffering from this devastating disease.”
The Edward N. & Della L. Thome Memorial Foundation was created in 2002 to advance the health of older adults through the support of direct service projects and medical research on diseases and disorders affecting older adults. In keeping with the Foundation’s mission, the goal of the Awards Program is to support translational research that will lead to improved therapies for individuals suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
