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Dr. Michael Chaiken is the New President of IRIS The Visual Group

Iris-chaiken-michaelIRIS The Visual Group appointed Dr. Michael Chaiken as president at a shareholders’ meeting held Friday, May 27, 2016.

The new president himself confirmed the news, of which he was informed the day before, in a phone interview with clipinfo.ca. Since the sudden death in July 2014 of Dr. Francis Jean, founder and president of the IRIS Group, the company was operating under the leadership of a committee of seven vice-presidents.

“I’m honoured by this appointment and intend to ensure that IRIS continues to grow according to the values that Dr. Jean believed in,” says Dr. Chaiken. “Our objective is to hold 20% of the market share in Canada, which is about 400 to 500 stores.” IRIS presently has about 150.

Dr. Michael Chaiken joined IRIS in 2008 and held the position of Vice-President of Regulatory Affairs. He is a former president of the Quebec Order of Optometrists and a former Chairman of the Canadian Optometric Regulatory Authorities (CORA), which he helped found in 1995.

For the full press release, click HERE.

First Successful Skin-To-Eye Stem Cell Transplant

Researchers from RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, presented results for a patient one year after the first ever skin-to-eye stem cell transplant at the Association for Research in Vision and Optometry (ARVO) Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington.

The 70-year-old patient had wet AMD that was unresponsive to other treatment methods. Skin from the patient’s arm was modified into induced pluripotent stem cells, which are stem cells generated directly from adult cells, then transformed into retinal pigment epithelium. This sheet of RPE cells were then transplanted into the back of the patient’s eye.

One year out from the surgery, the patient’s visual acuity was maintained at the same level (18/200) without the use of anti-VEGF treatments, and the patient’s Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25) score improved from 40.7 to 58.3.

Further information:”Transplantation of Autologous induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cell Sheets for Exudative Age Related Macular Degeneration : A Pilot Clinical Study”

New Styles at Julbo

The collections are spicy this spring at Julbo, a pioneer of sunglasses for kids and teens. For the girls, Lola delivers comfort and head-turning looks, while for the rough and tumble boys, Rookie (photo) elicits admiration while providing total eye safety.

www.rlanctot.com

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