Peter Charbel Issa is a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon specialising in retinal diseases. After his undergraduate training in Jena, Freiburg and London, he received his clinical and research training at the Universities of Würzburg, Bonn and Oxford. He was appointed Professor of Ophthalmology in 2013 (Chair for Degenerative Retinal Diseases) at the University of Bonn, Germany, where he was also Coordinator for Ophthalmology in the Centre for Rare Diseases. He returned to Oxford in 2016 where his research is focused on inherited retinal dystrophies including Stargardt disease and retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and retinal imaging/phenotyping.

His research work has resulted in numerous awards and distinctions, including the prestigious Marie-Curie-Fellowship, the Research Award of the German Society of Ophthalmology, the Macula Research Award for the prevention of blindness, and a GEROK-Scholarship. He is a member of the scientific advisory board of the ProRetina patient organization, co-organizer for the “ProRetina Research Colloquium”, elected member of the “Retinal Dystrophies Expert Committee” of the European Vision Institute Clinical Research Network, and is consultant for several biotech and pharmaceutical companies. He is author of over 170 peer-reviewed articles (pubmed or Google Scholar) and serves as Editorial Board Member of the journals RETINA and Ophthalmic Research.

Peter's own and collaborative translational research focusses on novel treatments for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and inherited retinal disease (IRD). He is principal investigator for several clinical trials that investigate innovative therapies for retinal diseases and is involved in gene therapy clinical trials as a clinician and surgeon. He also runs research projects aiming at improved understanding and diagnosis of retinal disease through in-depth phenotyping, and the development and application of novel imaging technologies.

Current research projects and interests include: 

• Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) - clinical trials including gene therapy, phenotyping
• Stargardt disease (ABCA4-related retinopathy) - clinical trials, phenotyping
• Cone-rod dystrophies (e.g. CDHR1-related retinopathy, mitochondrial retinopathy) - development of gene therapy, phenotyping, genetics
• Retinitis pigmentosa - clinical trials, phenotyping, disease mechanisms, genetics
• Macular telangiectasia diseases type 2 (MacTel; The MacTel Project - www.lmri.net) - clinical trials, phenotyping
• Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) - phenotyping, clinical care
• Fundus autofluroescence imaging using novel excitation light sources and applying quantitative read-outs

Imran Yusuf, DPhil Student and MRC Clinical Research Training Fellow

Connie Han, DPhil Student and Medical Sciences Graduate School Scholar

Johannes Birtel MD MBA, Clinical Research Fellow and Global Ophthalmology Awards Programme Fellow

Robert MacLaren

Jasmina Kapetanovic

Samantha De Silva

Michelle McClements

Clinical Ophthalmology Research Group

Eye Research Group Oxford