October 21, 2025 • 27 mins
Sam speaks with Associate Professor Tien Huynh from RMIT about her team's research into a new medication using natural proteins to tackle retina-based vision conditions such as macular degeneration.
You'll also hear from 2025 Blind Australian of the Year Maurice Gleeson, who recently picked up the award for his decades of service to the blind and low vision community in the field of sport and recreation.
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:21):
From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
your host Sam Colley.
S2 (00:31):
Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness
and low vision.
S3 (00:39):
Next part of our whole mission to support people, to
give them a purpose, to be able to go and
socialize with their friends, either. Whatever it is, it's not
just the competitive part of sport except peer support. That
social interaction and working collectively as a society, we need
to continue to support each other.
S2 (01:01):
Welcome to the program. This week I catch up with
the member of a team responsible for a new breakthrough
in eye research, with a potential new medication to tackle
the issues of age related macular degeneration and other retina
based eye conditions. Her name is Tian Hun and we'll
(01:23):
be catching up very shortly, so make sure to stick
around for that conversation. Then, after you hear from Tian,
it's my great pleasure to welcome back a favorite of
ours on Talking Vision. Maurice Gleeson, the recipient of this
year's Blind Australian of the year award. I hope you'll
enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. Kicking off the
(01:52):
show this week, some exciting news in the field of
eye research, with our next guest quite heavily involved in
a new medication that's recently had a breakthrough in development.
Her name is Tian Hun and she joins me now. Tian, TN.
(02:12):
Welcome to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for your time.
S4 (02:16):
Thank you for inviting me, and I'm excited to share
our research with your listeners.
S2 (02:20):
And I'm excited to hear all about it. So let's
jump straight into that. TN I understand there's a new
eyedrop that's shown quite early success in delivering some really
promising results.
S4 (02:36):
Yes. So this is actually maybe giving you a bit
of background to it. We've been working on this for
over a decade.
S2 (02:42):
Wow.
S4 (02:42):
And so we're finally able to make it into something
that we think is actually going to be a breakthrough
for actual clinical practice. So as part of the research,
we've collaborated with our clinicians at the Eye Hospital and
the center for Eye Research Australia. So they're the ones
that are going to make this possible for people. And
(03:03):
it's not just a lab experiment that we did in
our spare time. We hope that this will be the
thing that actually helps people to save their vision.
S2 (03:12):
And TN. Tell us a bit about the team that
you've been working with at RMIT.
S4 (03:19):
Yes, and not just RMIT. So I've got Professor Charlotte
who's specialised in the technology in terms of the, the
Lutyens and the Cubosomes. So it's actually encapsulating in a
way that protects it. We've also got pharmacy specialists, so
Doctor Bellini and also Sampa and Terry. And we also
work with the In hospital in the Centre of Excellence
(03:40):
for Eye Research Australia, which is Associate Professor Chee and
also the main student, which is Dow and Christopher. And
they've been the ones doing most of the work.
S2 (03:49):
So let's go a little bit further back into that
past decade of different experiments and processes. And what's the
process been like, and what's been the big sort of
breakthrough that's enabled all of this sort of thing to
really happen?
S4 (04:08):
Technology and science. Sam. Excellent. We love it. Yeah, we
love the biotechnology stuff. I'll go back a bit in
time and tell you the story. So I'm of Asian background,
and on one of my research trips that I went overseas,
I saw fruit that wasn't available in Australia. It's this
bright orange fruit that's as big as my head, and
(04:28):
the locals consider it as weed, so they weren't using
it to the best of its capability. And I as
a researcher, I thought I was fascinated with it because
it just was. It was like a very big orange,
but very round and spiky. So if you know about
durians that are very. Yes, yes. So it's a bit
like that, but very bright orange. And immediately in my
(04:49):
mind I thought, orange. That's a really good colour because
we use a lot of that in our foods. So
in the first couple of years we looked at cancer
research because that was one of my fields of interest
and that worked really great. But then we looked at
it more and we found that a lot of the
fruit is not used, so it's wasted, especially the peel.
So the outside bit of the fruit, which is where
(05:09):
the bright orange oranges. And I think in some recent
publications you can look at this fruit. It's actually quite
I think it's quite beautiful. Bright orange on the outside,
light orange on the inside, and then even brighter red
around the seeds. And all of them have very medicinal applications.
But for this project, we looked at the peel, which
(05:29):
had very high amounts of lutein, which is a compound
and one of only three that accumulates in our eyes.
And that gave us an idea in terms of, well,
if it's actually located in our eyes, it's actually good
for something. So we went on a quest to try
and find out what it does. So part of this
research now that we've published is looking at its effect
(05:51):
on the retina. So human retina cells we had in
the labs growing and we did all sorts to it.
So we stressed it out with hydrogen and oxygen as
well to replicate inflammation and oxidative stress. And what we
found was that it was really great for reducing almost
to the point of nondiseased. And then we also looked
(06:12):
at angiogenesis, which is what happens when we have retinal diseases.
So formed blood vessels that can cause a lot of
bleeding and hemorrhage in the eyes. And we're really excited.
So that was the first part of the project in
that these retina cells in the eyes were almost reverted
back to when it was young, you know, after all,
because age related macular degeneration is when over time, our
(06:34):
eyes do have issues and there's a lot of stress
that goes into it from not only the exposure we
have to sunlight, but also with age and things that
we inadvertently expose our eyes to. So, interestingly, we've got
another project now looking at modern trauma that our eyes
go through. Things like exposure to our TV screens, our phones,
(06:58):
our plasma TVs and computer screens. What we're finding is
that they emit blue light, especially short wavelength blue light,
at around 400 nanometers to 500 nanometers. And surprisingly, the
loot in the compound that's found in these fruit skin
absorbs those wavelengths, so it's acting like a shield as
(07:19):
sunglasses on your eyes. And actually causing a lot of
great things are reducing inflammation, reducing oxidation, angiogenesis. And so
it's actually a really good compound to get into our eyes.
But the problem was MI is very complex. So it
contains the front part the middle part and the back part.
So the front part is our lens and the middle
(07:41):
part is a lot of the vitreous layer. And the
back part is our retina. And the retina is critical
for a lot of retinopathy diseases. So our current medications
we really struggle with getting medications, eye medication to the
back of the eye because we've got those barriers in
the front. So we decided to add technology to it
to carry our compounds to the back. Because lutein itself
(08:04):
is very unstable. That bright orange is broken down by sunlight,
by oxygen, by temperature, by everything. It just breaks down
really fast. And current guidelines recommend we take in lutein
as a supplement, but then it has problems with redistribution,
absorption and getting to the eyes, which very small amounts
(08:24):
actually accumulate in the eyes there. And so we added
technology to it, and we found that it was actually
able to penetrate the eyes as a topical eye drop,
which we thought was amazing because this means you no
longer have to have injections. Um, the.
S2 (08:39):
Big.
S4 (08:39):
Thing that late stage.
S2 (08:41):
Oh, that's a huge thing that's really exciting from my
side of things. When I was reading all about this
and hearing about how there's this far less invasive way
to address these issues with age related macular degeneration and
how to treat it. And people don't have to go
(09:01):
in for injections or, you know, invasive surgeries or, you know,
all those things with heaps of recovery times. There's this
eyedrop and this compound that really has changed the game
in some ways.
S4 (09:17):
Oh, we love it. And it could be interchangeable to
other medications that you need to get to the back
of the eye. So this is just in terms of
it's the research that's been put behind. It isn't just
for this compound, but it was using as an example
that we could have better alternatives to invasive treatments. And
like you said, I mean, I don't know how most
(09:37):
people feel about injections in the eye, but I would know.
It's quite traumatic.
S2 (09:41):
I would rather not absolutely. Rather avoid, if at all possible.
S5 (09:46):
Yes, yes.
S4 (09:46):
And like you said, it means that we can actually
treat ourselves rather than going into hospitals or the practitioners
to get it done. Right. And this means that we
could actually use it as a preventative care as well.
I mean, because a lot of these eye conditions take
time to develop. So if we have something, it's easy
as an eye drop that's not going to cause any
real inconvenience to patients. It means that they might likely
(10:10):
adhere to treatments and is not painful. It's not inconvenient.
You don't need to go to the clinician, book the
hospitals and it might actually be even cheaper. So I
think it takes a lot of boxes in terms of
future medications, using biotechnology to repurpose a compound that's usually
wasted from a fruit that's not really well known.
S2 (10:31):
So people may be wondering how far along in terms
of the rollout these eyedrops would be and how available
they are for the general public. Does the team have
a general idea in mind for a timeline when this
(10:51):
technology will be available for the public?
S4 (10:54):
It's hard to say because.
S2 (10:56):
That's understandable.
S4 (10:57):
Funding to get to human trials, because it's a fruit
that has been looked at before. It's new compound with
the technology added to it. And I mean, the mice
were fine. And I've heard that some people in Asia
now are actually doing it themselves, but they've got no
protection around it in terms of the looting. It's actually
degrading fast. So, I mean, people eat this stuff all
(11:18):
the time, so it's not toxic. I would like to
say as a, as a food product, but to go
through to human trials takes a lot of investment and time.
And that's where we're at the moment in terms of
getting the funding together to do this as a proper
human trial, to make sure it's safe, make sure we
know the dosages and actually formulate it properly. So if
(11:38):
it was unlimited funding and resources, I think within five
years we could roll it out. But that's where the
problem is in terms of we don't have funding at
the moment for this yet, and if someone is in
a position who could direct us somewhere to someone would
be very keen to collaborate.
S2 (11:54):
Yeah, well, there you go. Yeah. For sure. Well, let's
see what happens there now in terms of how people
can follow the progress of this new Eyedrop technology. Ten.
Is there a way where people can follow this online,
(12:15):
or get in touch with certain people who can keep
them in the loop, if they, or someone they know
would be very interested in sort of following the progress
of this over the next few years as it progresses.
S5 (12:29):
Absolutely.
S4 (12:29):
So I can send some of the publications we've already had,
and there's quite a few of them for this one
project and the fruit itself. Um, but whenever we have
really great results, we try and communicate it to the public.
And I always try and do outreach programs where involve
the community to get into labs and come with us
and even go on road tours to see this fruit,
(12:50):
to conserve it in the natural environment so it doesn't
become extinct. When I first started on this project, the
fruit was considered as weed and people would try and
get rid of it. So since my involvement in it
and it's been over a decade now, is now considered
as one of the protected plants. Now, and that's what
we want to see in terms of important crops. That
could be potential solutions for the future, for problems that
(13:12):
we haven't even come across, like, for instance, eye diseases
that are due to too much TV screen and computers
and our phones. So you can definitely follow me. And
I'm always in the media talking about the research that
we do and really promoting science. So if you hashtag
Sian my name, uh, you'll find me all over the
place and doing amazing things with plants because that's my passion.
(13:36):
I love looking at underdeveloped plants and actually making them
into things that are solutions that we care about.
S2 (13:42):
Perfect. Okay. Well, I've been speaking today with Associate Professor
Tian Hoon from the School of Science at RMIT University
in Melbourne, all about this exciting new eye drop formula
in sight for serious vision problems, Including age related macular degeneration.
(14:06):
So we follow that with great interest over the next
few years. TN if anything does pop up any new
sort of breakthroughs or big news to let our listeners
know about? I'd absolutely love to have you back on
the show. Thank you so much for your time today.
S4 (14:23):
Thank you so much. I'd love to come back because
we've got a few things in the pipeline, and when
they publish, I'll certainly contact you.
S2 (14:38):
I'm Sam Corley and you're listening to Talking Vision on
Vision Australia Radio. Associated stations of the Radio Reading Network
and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that
conversation there with Tian Hun. If you missed any part
of that chat with Tian or you'd love to hear
(15:00):
it again. Talking vision is available on the podcast app
of your choice or through the Vision Australia library. You
can also find the program on the Vision Australia Radio website.
Simply head to VA radio. That's VA radio. All. One word.
(15:21):
Coming up now, I speak with the new recipient of
the 2025 Blind Australian of the Year Award for his
services over decades to the sport and recreation community of
people around Victoria who are blind or have low vision.
A voice who's becoming no stranger to talking vision. It's
(15:45):
none other than Maurice Gleeson. Maurice, welcome back to the show.
Great to have you.
S3 (15:50):
Thanks, Sam, for the opportunity.
S2 (15:52):
No worries at all. Now, Maurice, firstly, congratulations are in order.
The new blind Australian of the year for 2025. Has
it all sunk in for you yet?
S3 (16:04):
We're not really, um. It's very exciting to be recognizing
this way. Um, it's a big, a big challenge for
yourself because in lots of ways, I'm an introvert, like, I,
I'm outgoing, but when it comes to myself, I feel, um,
quite humble and modest about it. But I am very
(16:24):
pleased that, you know, a great honor has been acknowledged
to me, and I'm very grateful for that.
S2 (16:31):
When did you find out you were in the running
for such an award like this, and did you find
out who nominated you and how that all sort of
came about?
S3 (16:41):
No, I didn't officially find out who nominated me, but
I knew I was asked, would I be happy to
be nominated? Some time ago. And I said, you know,
I thought about it. I said, yeah, that would be
they didn't actually give it much more thought until about
probably about 4 or 5 weeks before the award evening,
(17:05):
I notified that I was one of the finalists for
the award. Yeah. So that's how that came about.
S2 (17:13):
What was it like for you getting up to Brisbane
and back? I've chatted to quite a few people over
the years who've attended the awards, and some of them,
it's their first time flying or, you know, they've always
had a few difficulties with mobility and getting their way
around the airport. What's been your experience?
S3 (17:37):
Um, well, on this occasion, overall it was fine. I did,
I was accompanied with a friend of mine who also
came with me. I have travelled independently to Brisbane on
my own and it's been somewhat challenging, but however, it's
much better than what it used to be. I mean,
(17:58):
you have Travellers Aid Australia now and Brisbane have trouble
with a support program up there as well at their airport,
so that wasn't too bad. Overall.
S2 (18:10):
Apart from the obvious high point at um, the awards
itself was some of your favorite aspects of the night
and being up there and, um, you know, being involved. And, um,
what did you enjoy the most?
S3 (18:27):
Oh, look, I think the networking opportunities to meet other
people from other organizations and individual people, as well as
link visiting themselves, their award evening and Link building is
a very progressive organization located in Queensland. And so to
(18:49):
catch up with their board and some of the recipients
of their, uh, services that they provide. So that was
a good opportunity. The venue was a very good location. Now, overall,
it was a very good occasion.
S2 (19:07):
Now, Morris, let's jump into your work with blind sports
and recreation over. Well, it's decades now, isn't it? In,
you know, so many different, um, capacities. What's been your
fondest memories and some of the things that you're most
proud of being involved with over that time?
S3 (19:31):
Yeah, that's a very good question you're asking, Sam. The
progress at Blind Spot Recreation Victoria has made over history,
particularly in the last, I guess, 14 or 15 years.
To see our whole mission is to enable people who
are blind or visually impaired to participate in a sport
(19:52):
or a recreational or art, any form of activity, so
they can be involving of the choice so they can
be have something meaningful to be able to participate. And,
you know, just make a what whether a walking program,
a zoom program, uh, our affiliated clubs and organizations there
(20:16):
to the elite level, some of them in goalball, etc.. But, uh,
it just to see people grow and giving opportunity of
all ages. I've also have noticed in the last 3
or 4 years that this service providers are working much
more closely together now as well, which have been a
(20:39):
significant progress that Guide Dogs Victoria Statewide Vision Resource Center, obviously,
Vision Australia, who have always supported our organization. So that's
been a significant, uh, progressive area, which I'm very pleased with.
And there's other organizations as well that we have a
(21:01):
good connection with.
S2 (21:02):
And over the years, Morris, has there been a favorite
sport that you've been involved with? What was really your favorite? Um,
back in the day. And um, what did you most
enjoy playing?
S3 (21:16):
Oh, well, I'm glad you. I call her turning up.
I was never good at any sport. I was never
excelled at any sport. I tried, you know, goalball and, uh,
athletics and swimming. All was well. I've had some experience in.
So that's been a good, uh, what I've really enjoyed.
(21:39):
So I don't necessarily have a favorite sport, but unlike
my brother Nick, who's also blind in New South Wales,
he's been a very, very accomplished sportsperson. So we're quite
different in that I do the easy part, help to
administrate and make things happen. He carried out and do it. So, um,
(22:01):
that's why I really enjoy the other thing today, which
is being very progressive. We have a lot more what
we call co-designing now. So a lot of people with
disability now have a lot more input into developing their
activity or doesn't necessarily have have to be support that co-design,
(22:25):
where people are able to consult in the developing of
new programs or existing program. And I think that could
be a great step in the right direction.
S2 (22:36):
Now, Maurice, that leads on to my next question. This
is where I'd love to have a chat about the
future of Blind Sports and Recreation. Victoria, what are you
most excited about seeing over 2026 and beyond? And some
things that Bayer survey has in the pipeline for people
(22:59):
who are blind or have low vision in the community.
S3 (23:02):
Well, our long term or short term goal, what we're
striving to work towards is to make a Victorian, and
we're starting to move in that direction a bit. So
we wanted to reach out to regional Victoria and rural Victoria.
That would be my long term goal. I want to
(23:22):
make stronger connection with sporting organizations to understand what inclusion means,
how we can work together to make their facility and
their program more accessible for people who are blind or
visually impaired. So I want to have that connection. I
want to develop our education awareness training as well. So
(23:45):
that's another area that I want. So so people are
able to engage with people with a significant vision loss
in a most effective way. So there's some of my goal. However,
having said all that, Sam funding is our biggest challenge.
And not just with our organization. Um, we can have
(24:07):
the best program in the world if we can get
recognition awards, but we need to ensure that we to
become sustainable. Uh, we need to ensure that we can
have ongoing and recurrent funding. So that's one of our
biggest challenge for a number of organizations. The other interesting
(24:29):
thing is to it's very important for people to understand
people with vision loss or blurry vision or significant vision loss.
They can also have other challenges as well. Obesity or
mental health issues or domestic violence. So it's not just limited.
(24:49):
So there's some of the areas that we need to
be aware of. And that's next part of our whole
mission to support people, to give them a purpose, to
be able to go and socialize with their friends, either.
Whatever it is, it's not just the competitive part of sport,
except peer support, that social interaction and working collectively as
(25:14):
a society, we need to continue to support each other.
S2 (25:19):
That's a perfect note to end on. Morris, thank you
so much. I've been speaking today with Morris Gleason, CEO
and president of Blind Sports and Recreation Victoria, recent recipient
of the 2025 Blind Australian of the Year Award in
Brisbane on the 11th of October. Morris, congratulations once again
(25:43):
and thank you so much for your time. As always.
Always great to have you on the show. And that's
all the time we have for today. You've been listening
to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision Australia radio production.
(26:04):
Thanks to all involved with putting the show together every week.
And remember, we love hearing from you. So please get
in touch anytime on our email at Talking Australia. That's
talking vision all one word at Vision Australia. But until
next week it's Sam Coley saying bye for now.
S1 (26:30):
You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
business hours on one 384 746. That's one 384 74
six or by visiting Vision Australia. That's Vision Australia.
From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
your host Sam Colley.
S2 (00:31):
Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness
and low vision.
S3 (00:39):
Next part of our whole mission to support people, to
give them a purpose, to be able to go and
socialize with their friends, either. Whatever it is, it's not
just the competitive part of sport except peer support. That
social interaction and working collectively as a society, we need
to continue to support each other.
S2 (01:01):
Welcome to the program. This week I catch up with
the member of a team responsible for a new breakthrough
in eye research, with a potential new medication to tackle
the issues of age related macular degeneration and other retina
based eye conditions. Her name is Tian Hun and we'll
(01:23):
be catching up very shortly, so make sure to stick
around for that conversation. Then, after you hear from Tian,
it's my great pleasure to welcome back a favorite of
ours on Talking Vision. Maurice Gleeson, the recipient of this
year's Blind Australian of the year award. I hope you'll
enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. Kicking off the
(01:52):
show this week, some exciting news in the field of
eye research, with our next guest quite heavily involved in
a new medication that's recently had a breakthrough in development.
Her name is Tian Hun and she joins me now. Tian, TN.
(02:12):
Welcome to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for your time.
S4 (02:16):
Thank you for inviting me, and I'm excited to share
our research with your listeners.
S2 (02:20):
And I'm excited to hear all about it. So let's
jump straight into that. TN I understand there's a new
eyedrop that's shown quite early success in delivering some really
promising results.
S4 (02:36):
Yes. So this is actually maybe giving you a bit
of background to it. We've been working on this for
over a decade.
S2 (02:42):
Wow.
S4 (02:42):
And so we're finally able to make it into something
that we think is actually going to be a breakthrough
for actual clinical practice. So as part of the research,
we've collaborated with our clinicians at the Eye Hospital and
the center for Eye Research Australia. So they're the ones
that are going to make this possible for people. And
(03:03):
it's not just a lab experiment that we did in
our spare time. We hope that this will be the
thing that actually helps people to save their vision.
S2 (03:12):
And TN. Tell us a bit about the team that
you've been working with at RMIT.
S4 (03:19):
Yes, and not just RMIT. So I've got Professor Charlotte
who's specialised in the technology in terms of the, the
Lutyens and the Cubosomes. So it's actually encapsulating in a
way that protects it. We've also got pharmacy specialists, so
Doctor Bellini and also Sampa and Terry. And we also
work with the In hospital in the Centre of Excellence
(03:40):
for Eye Research Australia, which is Associate Professor Chee and
also the main student, which is Dow and Christopher. And
they've been the ones doing most of the work.
S2 (03:49):
So let's go a little bit further back into that
past decade of different experiments and processes. And what's the
process been like, and what's been the big sort of
breakthrough that's enabled all of this sort of thing to
really happen?
S4 (04:08):
Technology and science. Sam. Excellent. We love it. Yeah, we
love the biotechnology stuff. I'll go back a bit in
time and tell you the story. So I'm of Asian background,
and on one of my research trips that I went overseas,
I saw fruit that wasn't available in Australia. It's this
bright orange fruit that's as big as my head, and
(04:28):
the locals consider it as weed, so they weren't using
it to the best of its capability. And I as
a researcher, I thought I was fascinated with it because
it just was. It was like a very big orange,
but very round and spiky. So if you know about
durians that are very. Yes, yes. So it's a bit
like that, but very bright orange. And immediately in my
(04:49):
mind I thought, orange. That's a really good colour because
we use a lot of that in our foods. So
in the first couple of years we looked at cancer
research because that was one of my fields of interest
and that worked really great. But then we looked at
it more and we found that a lot of the
fruit is not used, so it's wasted, especially the peel.
So the outside bit of the fruit, which is where
(05:09):
the bright orange oranges. And I think in some recent
publications you can look at this fruit. It's actually quite
I think it's quite beautiful. Bright orange on the outside,
light orange on the inside, and then even brighter red
around the seeds. And all of them have very medicinal applications.
But for this project, we looked at the peel, which
(05:29):
had very high amounts of lutein, which is a compound
and one of only three that accumulates in our eyes.
And that gave us an idea in terms of, well,
if it's actually located in our eyes, it's actually good
for something. So we went on a quest to try
and find out what it does. So part of this
research now that we've published is looking at its effect
(05:51):
on the retina. So human retina cells we had in
the labs growing and we did all sorts to it.
So we stressed it out with hydrogen and oxygen as
well to replicate inflammation and oxidative stress. And what we
found was that it was really great for reducing almost
to the point of nondiseased. And then we also looked
(06:12):
at angiogenesis, which is what happens when we have retinal diseases.
So formed blood vessels that can cause a lot of
bleeding and hemorrhage in the eyes. And we're really excited.
So that was the first part of the project in
that these retina cells in the eyes were almost reverted
back to when it was young, you know, after all,
because age related macular degeneration is when over time, our
(06:34):
eyes do have issues and there's a lot of stress
that goes into it from not only the exposure we
have to sunlight, but also with age and things that
we inadvertently expose our eyes to. So, interestingly, we've got
another project now looking at modern trauma that our eyes
go through. Things like exposure to our TV screens, our phones,
(06:58):
our plasma TVs and computer screens. What we're finding is
that they emit blue light, especially short wavelength blue light,
at around 400 nanometers to 500 nanometers. And surprisingly, the
loot in the compound that's found in these fruit skin
absorbs those wavelengths, so it's acting like a shield as
(07:19):
sunglasses on your eyes. And actually causing a lot of
great things are reducing inflammation, reducing oxidation, angiogenesis. And so
it's actually a really good compound to get into our eyes.
But the problem was MI is very complex. So it
contains the front part the middle part and the back part.
So the front part is our lens and the middle
(07:41):
part is a lot of the vitreous layer. And the
back part is our retina. And the retina is critical
for a lot of retinopathy diseases. So our current medications
we really struggle with getting medications, eye medication to the
back of the eye because we've got those barriers in
the front. So we decided to add technology to it
to carry our compounds to the back. Because lutein itself
(08:04):
is very unstable. That bright orange is broken down by sunlight,
by oxygen, by temperature, by everything. It just breaks down
really fast. And current guidelines recommend we take in lutein
as a supplement, but then it has problems with redistribution,
absorption and getting to the eyes, which very small amounts
(08:24):
actually accumulate in the eyes there. And so we added
technology to it, and we found that it was actually
able to penetrate the eyes as a topical eye drop,
which we thought was amazing because this means you no
longer have to have injections. Um, the.
S2 (08:39):
Big.
S4 (08:39):
Thing that late stage.
S2 (08:41):
Oh, that's a huge thing that's really exciting from my
side of things. When I was reading all about this
and hearing about how there's this far less invasive way
to address these issues with age related macular degeneration and
how to treat it. And people don't have to go
(09:01):
in for injections or, you know, invasive surgeries or, you know,
all those things with heaps of recovery times. There's this
eyedrop and this compound that really has changed the game
in some ways.
S4 (09:17):
Oh, we love it. And it could be interchangeable to
other medications that you need to get to the back
of the eye. So this is just in terms of
it's the research that's been put behind. It isn't just
for this compound, but it was using as an example
that we could have better alternatives to invasive treatments. And
like you said, I mean, I don't know how most
(09:37):
people feel about injections in the eye, but I would know.
It's quite traumatic.
S2 (09:41):
I would rather not absolutely. Rather avoid, if at all possible.
S5 (09:46):
Yes, yes.
S4 (09:46):
And like you said, it means that we can actually
treat ourselves rather than going into hospitals or the practitioners
to get it done. Right. And this means that we
could actually use it as a preventative care as well.
I mean, because a lot of these eye conditions take
time to develop. So if we have something, it's easy
as an eye drop that's not going to cause any
real inconvenience to patients. It means that they might likely
(10:10):
adhere to treatments and is not painful. It's not inconvenient.
You don't need to go to the clinician, book the
hospitals and it might actually be even cheaper. So I
think it takes a lot of boxes in terms of
future medications, using biotechnology to repurpose a compound that's usually
wasted from a fruit that's not really well known.
S2 (10:31):
So people may be wondering how far along in terms
of the rollout these eyedrops would be and how available
they are for the general public. Does the team have
a general idea in mind for a timeline when this
(10:51):
technology will be available for the public?
S4 (10:54):
It's hard to say because.
S2 (10:56):
That's understandable.
S4 (10:57):
Funding to get to human trials, because it's a fruit
that has been looked at before. It's new compound with
the technology added to it. And I mean, the mice
were fine. And I've heard that some people in Asia
now are actually doing it themselves, but they've got no
protection around it in terms of the looting. It's actually
degrading fast. So, I mean, people eat this stuff all
(11:18):
the time, so it's not toxic. I would like to
say as a, as a food product, but to go
through to human trials takes a lot of investment and time.
And that's where we're at the moment in terms of
getting the funding together to do this as a proper
human trial, to make sure it's safe, make sure we
know the dosages and actually formulate it properly. So if
(11:38):
it was unlimited funding and resources, I think within five
years we could roll it out. But that's where the
problem is in terms of we don't have funding at
the moment for this yet, and if someone is in
a position who could direct us somewhere to someone would
be very keen to collaborate.
S2 (11:54):
Yeah, well, there you go. Yeah. For sure. Well, let's
see what happens there now in terms of how people
can follow the progress of this new Eyedrop technology. Ten.
Is there a way where people can follow this online,
(12:15):
or get in touch with certain people who can keep
them in the loop, if they, or someone they know
would be very interested in sort of following the progress
of this over the next few years as it progresses.
S5 (12:29):
Absolutely.
S4 (12:29):
So I can send some of the publications we've already had,
and there's quite a few of them for this one
project and the fruit itself. Um, but whenever we have
really great results, we try and communicate it to the public.
And I always try and do outreach programs where involve
the community to get into labs and come with us
and even go on road tours to see this fruit,
(12:50):
to conserve it in the natural environment so it doesn't
become extinct. When I first started on this project, the
fruit was considered as weed and people would try and
get rid of it. So since my involvement in it
and it's been over a decade now, is now considered
as one of the protected plants. Now, and that's what
we want to see in terms of important crops. That
could be potential solutions for the future, for problems that
(13:12):
we haven't even come across, like, for instance, eye diseases
that are due to too much TV screen and computers
and our phones. So you can definitely follow me. And
I'm always in the media talking about the research that
we do and really promoting science. So if you hashtag
Sian my name, uh, you'll find me all over the
place and doing amazing things with plants because that's my passion.
(13:36):
I love looking at underdeveloped plants and actually making them
into things that are solutions that we care about.
S2 (13:42):
Perfect. Okay. Well, I've been speaking today with Associate Professor
Tian Hoon from the School of Science at RMIT University
in Melbourne, all about this exciting new eye drop formula
in sight for serious vision problems, Including age related macular degeneration.
(14:06):
So we follow that with great interest over the next
few years. TN if anything does pop up any new
sort of breakthroughs or big news to let our listeners
know about? I'd absolutely love to have you back on
the show. Thank you so much for your time today.
S4 (14:23):
Thank you so much. I'd love to come back because
we've got a few things in the pipeline, and when
they publish, I'll certainly contact you.
S2 (14:38):
I'm Sam Corley and you're listening to Talking Vision on
Vision Australia Radio. Associated stations of the Radio Reading Network
and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that
conversation there with Tian Hun. If you missed any part
of that chat with Tian or you'd love to hear
(15:00):
it again. Talking vision is available on the podcast app
of your choice or through the Vision Australia library. You
can also find the program on the Vision Australia Radio website.
Simply head to VA radio. That's VA radio. All. One word.
(15:21):
Coming up now, I speak with the new recipient of
the 2025 Blind Australian of the Year Award for his
services over decades to the sport and recreation community of
people around Victoria who are blind or have low vision.
A voice who's becoming no stranger to talking vision. It's
(15:45):
none other than Maurice Gleeson. Maurice, welcome back to the show.
Great to have you.
S3 (15:50):
Thanks, Sam, for the opportunity.
S2 (15:52):
No worries at all. Now, Maurice, firstly, congratulations are in order.
The new blind Australian of the year for 2025. Has
it all sunk in for you yet?
S3 (16:04):
We're not really, um. It's very exciting to be recognizing
this way. Um, it's a big, a big challenge for
yourself because in lots of ways, I'm an introvert, like, I,
I'm outgoing, but when it comes to myself, I feel, um,
quite humble and modest about it. But I am very
(16:24):
pleased that, you know, a great honor has been acknowledged
to me, and I'm very grateful for that.
S2 (16:31):
When did you find out you were in the running
for such an award like this, and did you find
out who nominated you and how that all sort of
came about?
S3 (16:41):
No, I didn't officially find out who nominated me, but
I knew I was asked, would I be happy to
be nominated? Some time ago. And I said, you know,
I thought about it. I said, yeah, that would be
they didn't actually give it much more thought until about
probably about 4 or 5 weeks before the award evening,
(17:05):
I notified that I was one of the finalists for
the award. Yeah. So that's how that came about.
S2 (17:13):
What was it like for you getting up to Brisbane
and back? I've chatted to quite a few people over
the years who've attended the awards, and some of them,
it's their first time flying or, you know, they've always
had a few difficulties with mobility and getting their way
around the airport. What's been your experience?
S3 (17:37):
Um, well, on this occasion, overall it was fine. I did,
I was accompanied with a friend of mine who also
came with me. I have travelled independently to Brisbane on
my own and it's been somewhat challenging, but however, it's
much better than what it used to be. I mean,
(17:58):
you have Travellers Aid Australia now and Brisbane have trouble
with a support program up there as well at their airport,
so that wasn't too bad. Overall.
S2 (18:10):
Apart from the obvious high point at um, the awards
itself was some of your favorite aspects of the night
and being up there and, um, you know, being involved. And, um,
what did you enjoy the most?
S3 (18:27):
Oh, look, I think the networking opportunities to meet other
people from other organizations and individual people, as well as
link visiting themselves, their award evening and Link building is
a very progressive organization located in Queensland. And so to
(18:49):
catch up with their board and some of the recipients
of their, uh, services that they provide. So that was
a good opportunity. The venue was a very good location. Now, overall,
it was a very good occasion.
S2 (19:07):
Now, Morris, let's jump into your work with blind sports
and recreation over. Well, it's decades now, isn't it? In,
you know, so many different, um, capacities. What's been your
fondest memories and some of the things that you're most
proud of being involved with over that time?
S3 (19:31):
Yeah, that's a very good question you're asking, Sam. The
progress at Blind Spot Recreation Victoria has made over history,
particularly in the last, I guess, 14 or 15 years.
To see our whole mission is to enable people who
are blind or visually impaired to participate in a sport
(19:52):
or a recreational or art, any form of activity, so
they can be involving of the choice so they can
be have something meaningful to be able to participate. And,
you know, just make a what whether a walking program,
a zoom program, uh, our affiliated clubs and organizations there
(20:16):
to the elite level, some of them in goalball, etc.. But, uh,
it just to see people grow and giving opportunity of
all ages. I've also have noticed in the last 3
or 4 years that this service providers are working much
more closely together now as well, which have been a
(20:39):
significant progress that Guide Dogs Victoria Statewide Vision Resource Center, obviously,
Vision Australia, who have always supported our organization. So that's
been a significant, uh, progressive area, which I'm very pleased with.
And there's other organizations as well that we have a
(21:01):
good connection with.
S2 (21:02):
And over the years, Morris, has there been a favorite
sport that you've been involved with? What was really your favorite? Um,
back in the day. And um, what did you most
enjoy playing?
S3 (21:16):
Oh, well, I'm glad you. I call her turning up.
I was never good at any sport. I was never
excelled at any sport. I tried, you know, goalball and, uh,
athletics and swimming. All was well. I've had some experience in.
So that's been a good, uh, what I've really enjoyed.
(21:39):
So I don't necessarily have a favorite sport, but unlike
my brother Nick, who's also blind in New South Wales,
he's been a very, very accomplished sportsperson. So we're quite
different in that I do the easy part, help to
administrate and make things happen. He carried out and do it. So, um,
(22:01):
that's why I really enjoy the other thing today, which
is being very progressive. We have a lot more what
we call co-designing now. So a lot of people with
disability now have a lot more input into developing their
activity or doesn't necessarily have have to be support that co-design,
(22:25):
where people are able to consult in the developing of
new programs or existing program. And I think that could
be a great step in the right direction.
S2 (22:36):
Now, Maurice, that leads on to my next question. This
is where I'd love to have a chat about the
future of Blind Sports and Recreation. Victoria, what are you
most excited about seeing over 2026 and beyond? And some
things that Bayer survey has in the pipeline for people
(22:59):
who are blind or have low vision in the community.
S3 (23:02):
Well, our long term or short term goal, what we're
striving to work towards is to make a Victorian, and
we're starting to move in that direction a bit. So
we wanted to reach out to regional Victoria and rural Victoria.
That would be my long term goal. I want to
(23:22):
make stronger connection with sporting organizations to understand what inclusion means,
how we can work together to make their facility and
their program more accessible for people who are blind or
visually impaired. So I want to have that connection. I
want to develop our education awareness training as well. So
(23:45):
that's another area that I want. So so people are
able to engage with people with a significant vision loss
in a most effective way. So there's some of my goal. However,
having said all that, Sam funding is our biggest challenge.
And not just with our organization. Um, we can have
(24:07):
the best program in the world if we can get
recognition awards, but we need to ensure that we to
become sustainable. Uh, we need to ensure that we can
have ongoing and recurrent funding. So that's one of our
biggest challenge for a number of organizations. The other interesting
(24:29):
thing is to it's very important for people to understand
people with vision loss or blurry vision or significant vision loss.
They can also have other challenges as well. Obesity or
mental health issues or domestic violence. So it's not just limited.
(24:49):
So there's some of the areas that we need to
be aware of. And that's next part of our whole
mission to support people, to give them a purpose, to
be able to go and socialize with their friends, either.
Whatever it is, it's not just the competitive part of sport,
except peer support, that social interaction and working collectively as
(25:14):
a society, we need to continue to support each other.
S2 (25:19):
That's a perfect note to end on. Morris, thank you
so much. I've been speaking today with Morris Gleason, CEO
and president of Blind Sports and Recreation Victoria, recent recipient
of the 2025 Blind Australian of the Year Award in
Brisbane on the 11th of October. Morris, congratulations once again
(25:43):
and thank you so much for your time. As always.
Always great to have you on the show. And that's
all the time we have for today. You've been listening
to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision Australia radio production.
(26:04):
Thanks to all involved with putting the show together every week.
And remember, we love hearing from you. So please get
in touch anytime on our email at Talking Australia. That's
talking vision all one word at Vision Australia. But until
next week it's Sam Coley saying bye for now.
S1 (26:30):
You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during
business hours on one 384 746. That's one 384 74
six or by visiting Vision Australia. That's Vision Australia.
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