504: Researching Age-Related Retinal Degeneration Diagnostics and Therapeutics - Dr. Anne Fung

Dr. Anne Fung is the Global Development Lead for the Port Delivery System with Ranibizumab and Lucentis at Genentech. She is also a practicing retina specialist and researcher at Pacific Eye Associates and California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. Macular degeneration is a degenerative condition of a portion of the retina in the eye. This disease generally affects older adults. While there are some amazing medicines that can help people with macular degeneration, these medicines must be injected into the eye every 4-6 weeks. Anne is working on a tiny implant that serves as a reservoir for medicine so it can be slowly released over 6 months or more. They are currently investigating how long this implant can effectively treat the disease. Outside of science, Anne loves practicing yoga, as well as reading, listening to podcasts, and listening to audiobooks on a variety of topics including business, organizations, and psychology. Anne received her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College and her Medical Degree from Cornell University. She completed her residency in ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine and then pursued a Medical Retina Fellowship at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Anne worked in clinical practice for ten years before joining the team at Genentech in 2014. Anne is a Board Certified Ophthalmologist and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. In our interview she shares more about her life and science.