Genetics of AMD

Gregory S. Hageman, PhD 

University of Utah - John A. Moran Eye Center 

Dr. Hageman’s primary research interest over the past 30 years has been directed toward the genetics and biology of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of irreversible worldwide blindness. Dr. Hageman and his colleagues discovered that a specific common haplotype of the complement regulator Complement Factor H (CFH) on chromosome 1, accounts for greater than 50% of the risk for AMD in Caucasian populations. More recently, his team has generated strong ocular and systemic evidence that AMD is at least two biologically distinct diseases. 

Dr. Hageman currently serves as the Executive Director of the Steele Center for Translational Medicine (SCTM), which was created to gain a robust understanding of AMD biology in order to discover pathways, identify and validate therapeutic targets and develop therapies for AMD. He co-founded Perceive Biotherapeutics, a biotechnology company that is partnering with the JMEC to efficiently capitalize on the commercialization of scientific discoveries made within the Moran SCTM. A clinical trial was recently approved by the FDA and a Phase 1 trial is in progress.