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Scientific Advisory Board

The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) is a group of highly qualified and committed volunteers whose membership reflects a wide range of expertise that includes genetics, molecular genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry and cell biology of eye diseases that affect the retina.

The scientists on the SAB are responsible for evaluating research applications submitted to the FFB-C annual grant and award competition. They make sure that funds raised by the FFB-C are used to support worthwhile research projects of direct relevance to understanding the causes and improving the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration and related diseases of the retina. The SAB also takes on the responsibility of promoting interest in retinal disease research amongst the scientific community.

Scientists funded by the FFB-C have consistently accomplished major research goals, and this is due to the standards of excellence and sound judgment exercised by the Scientific Advisory Board. The Board of Directors would like to express its appreciation to the following individuals for their hard work and dedication.

The Foundation Fighting Blindness - Canada Scientific Advisory Board - 2009

Valerie Wallace	Valerie Wallace, Ph.D. Senior Scientist and Acting Director, Vision Program Ottawa Hospital Research Institute Associate Professor, Depts. of Ophthalmology & Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ottawa Ottawa, Ontario Dr. Valerie Wallace has been an independent investigator at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute since 1998.  A molecular and cellular biologist by training (PhD 1993), she is internationally recognized for her seminal discoveries on the role of Hedgehog signaling in neural progenitor proliferation in the central nervous system.  She is applying these findings to the development of cell replacement therapy in retina disease.  Dr. Wallace holds peer-reviewed grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canadian Cancer Society and the Foundation Fighting Blindness (Canada) and is currently lead investigator of a CIHR/FFB-funded Team Grant in Regenerative Medicine.  She has published over 50 papers and has been an invited speaker at several international symposia.  She currently serves on grant review panels for the FFB and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and is a reviewer for multiple journals.  She is also a member of the Stem Cell Network of Canada.  Dr. Wallace has received several distinctions throughout her career. In 2000 she was awarded a CIHR New Investigator Award and a Premier’s research Excellence award from the Government of Ontario. In 2002 she won Researcher of the Year Award from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.
	Rod Bremner, Ph.D. Head, Genetics and Development Division Toronto Western Research Institute Professor, Departments of Ophthalmology and Lab Med & Pathobiology University of Toronto
Michel Cayouette	Michel Cayouette, Ph.D. Research Unit Director, Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal (IRCM) Research Assistant Professor, University of Montreal Dr. Michel Cayouette received his Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Laval University (Quebec, QC) in 1999. After postdoctoral training at University College London (UK) and Stanford University (USA), he took an independent position at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal (IRCM) in 2004, where he is director of the Cellular Neurobiology research unit. Dr. Cayouette is also a research assistant professor at University of Montreal and holds cross-appointments at McGill University. His research focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating cell fate specification in the developing nervous system. His ultimate goal is to apply this knowledge to cell replacement therapies for retinal degenerative diseases. Dr. Cayouette has published several high impact studies in the field of neural development and retinal biology. He holds peer-reviewed grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the FFB, and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.  He is a member of a CIHR grant review panel and serves as ad-hoc reviewer for many scientific journals. He is also a member of the Editorial Board for the international scientific journal Stem Cells. Dr. Cayouette received different awards over the course of his career including the International Human Frontier Science Program fellowship, the CIHR New Investigator, and the FFB W.K. Stell Scholarship.
Robert L. Gendron	Robert L. Gendron, Ph.D. Professor, BioMedical Sciences and Oncology Faculty of Medicine Memorial University of Newfoundland The major focus of Dr. Gendron's research has been studying the role of the Nat1/Ard1 acetyltransferase family of molecules in neovascular retinopathies such as wet age related macular degeneration (wet AMD).  Neovascular retinopathies involve uncontrolled retinal and choroidal blood vessel growth and loss of vascular homeostasis which have major impacts on vision health in the young and the aged.  Collaborations with Dr. Helene Paradis led to the discovery and characterization of Tubedown, a component of a Nat1/Ard1-like molecular complex involved in controlling growth of blood vessels in the retina.  Dr. Gendron and his team hope that a better understanding of the Tubedown Nat1/Ard1 pathway might lead to new drugs to treat neovascular retinopathies in the young and the aged.
Ordan Lehmann	Ordan Lehmann, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor, Departments of Ophthalmology and Medical Genetics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta Dr. Lehmann is a clinician-scientist, integrating clinical practice with investigating the molecular basis of inherited ocular disorders. Particular interests include the contributions of copy number variation and developmental regulators to a spectrum of congenital and late-onset disease. Dr. Lehmann holds grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, and was awarded a Canada Research Chair in 2004. Dr. Lehmann serves as a reviewer for multiple funding agencies and journals, and at the University of Alberta leads an inter-disciplinary team of vision scientists (www.eyeteam.med.ualberta.ca).
Donald J. Zack	Donald J. Zack, M.D. John Hopkins University School of Medicine.