Mass. Eye and Ear, Joslin Diabetes announce collaboration in eye care

Massachusetts Eye and Ear and the Joslin Diabetes Center announced today that they have reached agreement to form a clinical and research alliance, aimed toward providing coordinated high quality care to eye patients throughout greater Boston, especially those with or at-risk for diabetes-related eye disease.

The new collaboration brings together Boston's two most advanced clinical eye departments, Joslin's Beetham Eye Institute (BEI) and Mass. Eye and Ear's Department of Ophthalmology. The alliance will provide an expanded Longwood Ophthalmology Service for present and future patients. The combined center will be co-located at the Joslin Diabetes Center at 1 Joslin Place and Mass. Eye and Ear's new ambulatory care center at 800 Huntington Avenue.

Mass. Eye and Ear and Joslin's Beetham Eye Institute have had a long-time collaboration as part of Harvard Medical School's Department of Ophthalmology, said Joan W. Miller, Chief of Ophthalmology at Mass. Eye and Ear and Chair of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. Combining the expertise and resources of these clinical and academic giants will strengthen this collaboration and advance our shared goal of eradicating eye disease.

The collaboration will operate under the direction of BEI's medical director Dr. Lloyd Paul Aiello. Dr. Aiello is a vice-chair in the Harvard Department of Ophthalmology, as well as an accomplished clinician-scientist and a leader in the HMS angiogenesis research group. This group first identified vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as a key regulator of abnormal new blood vessels in eye disease. Dr. Aiello is also the founding chairperson of the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network and he already leads Mass. Eye and Ear's ophthalmology service at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

It is an honor to lead such a talented group of physicians, said Dr. Aiello. This enhanced collaboration between our two world-class institutions will provide an outstanding level of clinical care based on extensive experience and cutting-edge research for all patients with eye disease.

The Beetham Eye Institute has long led the way in both clinical care and research for patients with or at-risk of developing diabetic-related eye disease. This agreement assures that BEI will remain a vital center for providing coordinated, integrated and comprehensive care in preventing, diagnosing and treating eye problems related to diabetes.

Mass. Eye and Ear's areas of specialization include: cataract surgery, glaucoma, macular degeneration, corneal disease, oculo plastics, neuro-ophthalmology, vision rehabilitation, immunology/uveitis, genetics, eye tumors including choroidal melanoma and retinoblastoma, and laser vision correction.