Support research on diabetic retinopathy
A high percentage of people with diabetes develop diabetic retinopathy: a complication caused by high blood sugar levels, damaging the back of the eye (retina). The eye condition can cause vision loss and, if left undiagnosed and untreated, even blindness.
The disease often progresses silently until it reaches an advanced stage. Luckily, in the early stage of the disease, it is possible to detect and prevent sight loss. As diabetic retinopathy has no symptoms until it is well advanced, there is an urgent need for the development of early diagnostic techniques to prevent the devastating consequences and irreversible vision loss. PhD candidate Siddhita Jadhav and her team want to conduct a pilot research, in which they will try to identify potential blood-based biomarkers for its early detection. The data generated from this project will be instrumental in planning concrete studies using clinical samples for further validation of these findings. This can ultimately lead to improved diagnosis and treatment strategies of this serious complication of diabetes.
Don’t close your eyes for diabetic retinopathy! Support the valuable pilot research to prevent blindness in diabetes patients.
Siddhita: ''I am curious to understand the mechanisms behind neurodegeneration of the retina in the diabetic population. When I worked in the eye hospital for several years, the concept of diabetic retinopathy as a neurodegenerative condition raised a number of questions for me. At Maastricht University, I have the opportunity to answer those questions through my PhD research.''
About the project owner
Siddhita Jadhav studied Biomedical Science (BSc) at the University of Central Lancashire, UK and Medical Diagnostics (MSc) at Cranfield University, UK. After completing her master's in 2011, she worked for several years as a quality control officer in the microbiology department of pharmaceutical companies in India. From 2014 to 2021, she worked as a researcher at the Aditya Jyot Foundation in Mumbai, India, where she was responsible for clinical and basic ophthalmic research and involved in hereditary counselling activities. Since 2019, she has been conducting PhD research at the Maastricht University Clinic Vision and Ophthalmology.
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