A new frontier: creating an ‘atlas’ of the macula
Meet Kuba and Dr Colin Chu
Where will Kuba’s atlas take us?
We spoke to PhD student Jakub (Kuba) Kubiak and Dr Colin Chu from University College London about the project, and what it could mean for the future of macular disease research.
What inspired you to apply for this PhD?
Kuba: I was always interested in medicine. My family works in medicine, but I didn’t want to be a medic. The area I was most interested in was the central nervous system, and to some extent, neurodegenerative diseases. That was always a key area of interest for me, as I’ve been hard of hearing since birth.
I saw the PhD studentship as an opportunity to do eye research, it’s really interconnected with the brain, and I wanted to apply the skills that I had before into a new frontier.
What have you learned about age-related macular degeneration?
Kuba: Oh wow, it's so complex. There’s so much variability from one person to another; how different people are even between patients with no eye disease.
Up until now, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has been looked at from a single perspective, from a single-factor approach. But AMD is such a multifactorial disease that being able to use a multifactorial approach to visualise it and understand the disease is, in my opinion, the way forward.
Can you explain how you’re building an ‘atlas’ of the macula?
Kuba: It's mostly to do with the techniques that have allowed us to go into this. The basic building block of our technique - something called immunohistochemistry, which is a very long word - has existed for a while. In short, can we take something, look under a microscope, and see it with a colour?
The complexity that has been developed now is that we're able to incorporate not just two or three colours - which is what most people do - but up to 40 colours at the same time: 40 markers, 40 proteins. We can look at how everything interacts simultaneously.
"It's only recently that these techniques have been developed, so it’s a huge step forward for research"
– Kuba
How could this research bring a cure for macular disease closer?
Dr Chu: It's absolutely core. As Kuba said, people have been working on many aspects of AMD for so long, and yet we haven't really cracked it. What is the fundamental cause? Why does it happen?
And I think the only way is to look at everything together, and that's what this atlas enables. For the first time we’re not just looking at only the blood vessels, immune cells, nerve cells or the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in isolation. We can look at all of it together and where they touch, where they relate.
"This holistic approach gives us a real opportunity to make significant breakthroughs."
– Dr Colin Chu
What would you say to someone living with macular disease about the work you’re doing and what the future holds?
Dr Chu: I'd say we're still at an early stage, but what we're offering is a completely fresh approach. This is cutting edge and ensures that patients with eye disease are at the forefront of the latest technology.
What's really important is getting to the heart of what causes macular disease and what a potential cure could be.
Do you ever have patients with macular disease in mind when you're doing research?
Kuba: When I attended the Virtual Eye workshop, I was very fortunate to meet someone living with macular disease. It was really inspiring to talk with him and his daughter. I learned about their day-to-day reality, as well as how they see things and how they interpret things.
When I do my research, I try to bear in mind the inspiration from them - how is it actually affecting them? Because that in itself is a huge insight. What people actually experience is a big factor in what's happening.
"It’s wonderful for people with macular disease to see excited, hard-working researchers like Kuba who are working away to try and find a cure in the future."
– Dr Colin Chu
How does funding from the Macular Society help?
Dr Chu: It is huge, and definitely drives research into macular disease, because if I'm being honest, funding is very limited. We couldn't do this without the Macular Society’s support.
Without the funding for a PhD studentship, I don't think I would have had the time or the resources to be able to do this research. You're ensuring that researchers are prioritising and putting the resource and time into the investigation of macular disease.
To find a cure, we need the best people in eye research. Without the best people, we won't get anywhere. It doesn't matter how fancy our machines are, it's the people that drive innovation - great scientists like Kuba.
"We couldn't do this research without the Macular Society's support."
– Dr Colin Chu
Fund the next generation of researchers
You can support scientists like Kuba with a gift in your Will. Legacies from generous people like you fund PhD studentships like the one Kuba has undertaken, bringing the best minds into eye research. And funding research is the only way to find a cure for macular disease.
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