Dr Zhichao Wu

A project at the Centre for Eye Research Australia aims to identify new biomarkers to predict the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The project will use the extensive imaging that came out of the Centre’s nanosecond laser project.

“We saw the opportunity to tease out who amongst the large group of people with the early signs of macular degeneration would progress to the later stages of the disease,” says research fellow Dr Zhichao Wu.

One in seven Australians over the age of 50 have the early signs of AMD, with about one in six going on to develop later complications within three years, said Dr Wu.