SF’s Museum of the Eye: Spring Virtual Programs

Submitted by the Event Organizer

You may be familiar with the idea that your gut and skin are home to a collection of microbes — fungi, bacteria and viruses — all vital for keeping you healthy. But did you know that your eyes also host a unique menagerie of microbes?

In this two-part series, the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Truhlsen-Marmor Museum of the Eye is offering a free virtual program to the public to better understand the microbiome of the eye:

Meet Your Eye Microbiome
Date: April 28
Time: noon PT / 3 p.m. ET
Cost: free

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-your-eye-microbiome-tickets-149185783695

First up, Anthony St. Leger, PhD, a professor and researcher at University of Pittsburg’s Ocular Microbiome and Immunity Laboratory, will help us understand the role microbes play in keeping our eyes healthy or diseased. He will be joined by Robert M. Q. Shanks, PhD, from Campbell Eye Microbiology Laboratory, which houses one of the most extensive collections of human ocular bacteria in the country. They will introduce us to a few common eye microbes found on our eyes as well as in their collection. Join us to find out more about your eye microbiome and the usefulness of maintaining such a collection for innovative research.

The Gut and the Eye
Date: May 26
Time: noon PT / 3 p.m. ET
Cost: free

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-gut-and-the-eye-tickets-149205613005

Recent research is looking into the link between the gut microbiome and ocular disease. How complex is the gut microbiome? An estimated 1,000 species of bacteria alone live in the human digestive system, but only a few of these microbes are understood. It’s as if, in a vast orchestra, only a handful of instruments can be heard. But these early notes may lead to new therapeutic paradigms in which the gut microbiome plays a role in treating eye disease. Join us for this second program in our two-part series exploring the microbiome of the eye.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.