Research
Prof Simunovic is actively engaged in research into emerging treatments for retinal disease, visual function and experimental vitreoretinal surgery. If you are seeing Prof Simunovic as a patient and are interested in participating in a research project, please discuss this with him at your appointment. If you are a prospective research trainee (pre- or -post-doctoral) interested in working on one of these projects, please see his University of Sydney webpage (http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/people/academics/profiles/matthew.simunovic.php).
Current Projects
Optogenetics for retinal degeneration
This is a pre-clinical trial aimed at vision restoration and has two principal aims: 1. To restore central vision in advanced atrophic (dry) macular degeneration (supported by the Macular Disease Foundation Australia) and 2. To restore vision in inherited retinal degeneration (IRD) (supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council).
Structure, Function, Gene Therapy and Surgery in Retinal Dystrophies
Hereditary diseases of the retina affect up to 1 in 3,000 individuals and are now the commonest cause of blindness registration in persons of working age. This project is aimed at:
- Assessing the effects of hereditary retinal diseases on vision and retinal structure in patients with known genotypes.
- Modelling different modes of surgical delivery of therapeutic substances into the sub-retinal space. (anzctr.org.au identifier ACTRN12619001121156).
- Assessing expression of viral vectors in human retinal explants.
This project is supported by the Foundation Fighting Blindness, USA (http://www.blindness.org).
Renexus
This is a phase III clinical trial of a ciliary neurotrophic factor implant for patients with macular telangiectasia II (MacTel II; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03316300). The Sydney arm is being conducted by the Macula Research Group at the Save Sight Institute (https://www.sydney.edu.au/save-sight-institute/our-research/clinical-trials.html)
ONL 1204
This is a Phase I trail of ON 1204 in macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03780972). ONL 1204 is a first-in-class inhibitor of Fragment Apoptosis Stimulator receptor (Fas)-mediated cell death and has demonstrated protection of multiple retinal cell types in numerous preclinical models of acute ocular injury.
PYK-1105
This is a phase I trial investigating the safety of a novel polymer vitreous substitute to permit retinal detachment repair without the need for gas "tamponade”.
Fight Inherited Retinal Blindness!
(https://savesightregistries.org/fight-inherited-retinal-blindness/)
I am the Chief Investigator for this new inherited retinal disease registry hosted by the Save Sight Registries, which is directed at tracking natural history and real-world treatment outcomes following retinal gene therapy (e.g. with voretigene neparvovec/Luxturna).
Publications
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Too LK, Shen W, Protti DA, Sawatari A, D AB, Leamey CA, J YH, Lee SR, A EM, Lisowski L, J YL, M CG, Simunovic MP. Optogenetic restoration of high sensitivity vision with bReaChES, a red-shifted channelrhodopsin. Sci Rep. 2022;12(1):19312.
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Simunovic MP, Grigg JR, Mahroo OA. Vision at the limits: Absolute threshold, visual function, and outcomes in clinical trials. Surv Ophthalmol. 2022;67(4):1270-86.
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Simunovic MP, Gillies MC. Impairments of L-Cone/M-Cone and S-Cone-Mediated Color Discrimination in Macular Telangiectasia Type II. Retina. 2022;42(3):576-80.
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Simunovic MP, Hess K, Gillies MC. Impairments in cone pigment regeneration and absolute threshold in macular telangiectasia type 2. Retina. 2022 Mar 1;42(3):569-575.
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Wood LJ, Josan AS, Pfau M, Simunovic MP, Jolly JK. Scotopic perimetry: methods and applications. Clinical and Experimental Optometry. In press.
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Simunovic MP, Mack, HG, Ayton, LN, Hassal, MM. Gene therapy, diet and drug approaches to treating inherited retinal disease. In Comprehensive Pharmacology Ed. Kenakin T. Elsevier. In press. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-820472-6.00154-7.
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Mack HG, Hassall MM, Hall AJH, Simunovic MP, Fraser-Bell S, Ayton LN. Cystoid macular edema. In Comprehensive Pharmacology Ed. Kenakin T. Elsevier. In press. DOI:10.1016/B978-0-12-820472-6.00151-1.
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Simunovic MP, Shao EH, Osaadon P, Sasongko MB, Too LK. Two-step versus 1-step subretinal injection to compare subretinal drug delivery: a randomised study protocol. BMJ Open. 2021 Dec 15;11(12):e049976. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049976
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Too LK, Simunovic MP. Retinal stem/progenitor cells derived from adult human Müller glia for the treatment of retinal degeneration. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology. 2021:9;749131.
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Jolly JK, Rider A, Simunovic MP, Dubis A, Josan AS, Robson A, Bridge H, Stockman A, MacLaren RE. Structural and functional characteristics of colour vision changes in choroideremia. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2021: 15;729807.
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Shao E, Yates W, Chang AA, Simunovic MP. Endophthalmitis: Changes in Presentation, Management and the Role of Early Vitrectomy. Ophthalmology and Therapy. 2021: Oct 25. doi: 10.1007/s40123-021-00406-6.
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Too LK*, Shen W, Mammo Z, Osaadon P, Gillies MC, Simunovic MP*. Living donor surgical retinal explants as a source of retinal progenitor cells. Retina. 2021 Feb 1. doi: 10.1097/IAE.0000000000003137.(* Denotes equal contributions).
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Yates W, Mammo Z, Simunovic MP. Intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (Anti-VEGF) vs pan-retinal LASER photocoagulation for proliferative diabetic retinopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology. 2021 Feb 23:S0008-4182(21)00033-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjo.2021.01.017.
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Too LK, Hunt N, Simunovic MP. The Role of Inflammation and Infection in Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases: Lessons From Bacterial Meningitis Applied to Alzheimer Disease and Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Front Cell Neurosci. 2021 Mar 26;15:635486. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2021.635486.
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Simunovic MP, Hess K, Avery M, Mammo Z. Threshold versus intensity functions in two-colour automated perimetry. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics. 2021 Jan; 41:157-164
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Akter N, Perry S, Fletcher J, Simunovic MP, and Roy M. Automated Artifacts and Noise Removal from Optical Coherence Tomography Images Using Deep Learning Technique. 2020 IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence (SSCI), Canberra, ACT, Australia, 2020, pp. 2536-2542, doi: 10.1109/SSCI47803.2020.9308336.
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Hassall M, Simunovic M. Chapter 35: Retinal Gene therapy. In Chang, Mieler, Ohji (Eds), Macular Surgery - Current Practice and Trends. 2020 (pp. 487-515). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
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Simunovic MP, Shao EH, Osaadon P. Ab-externo drainage with continuous anterior chamber infusion for non-resolving exudative retinal detachment. BMC Ophthalmol. 2020 Aug 28;20(1):349
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Simunovic MP, Osaadon P, Too LK. Sodium fluorescein as an optical label to evaluate sub-retinal injection. Retina. 2020 Apr 7; In press. DOI :10.1097/IAE.0000000000002800.
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K Xue, TL Edwards, HCM Meenink, MJ Beelen, GJL Naus, MP Simunovic, MD de Smet, RE MacLaren. Surgical Retina. Singapore: Springer. 2019. Chapter 11, Robot-Assisted Retinal Surgery: Overcoming Human Limitations. p109-114.
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Simunovic MP, Shen W, Lin JY, Protti DA, Lisowski L, Gillies MC. Optogenetic approaches to vision restoration. Exp Eye Res. 2019 Jan;178:15-26. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2018.09.003. Epub 2018 Sep 13. Review.
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Ong APC, Angbue Te ND, Zagora SL, Symes RJ, Yates W, Chang AA, McCluskey PJ, Simunovic MP (2018). Post-surgical versus post-intravitreal injection endophthalmitis: changing patterns in causative flora. Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2019 Jan;47(1):57-62. doi: 10.1111/ceo.13345. Epub 2018 Jul 16.
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Edwards TL, Xue K, Meenik HCM, Beelen MJ, Naus GJL, Simunovic MP, Latasiewicz M, Farmery AD, de Smet MD, MacLaren RE. First-in-human study of the safety and viability of intraocular robotic surgery. Nat Biomed Eng. 2018 Jun 18;2:649-656. doi: 10.1038/s41551-018-0248-4.
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Seitz IP, Jolly JK, Fischer MD, Simunovic MP. Colour discrimination ellipses in choroideremia. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2018 Apr;256(4):665-673. doi: 10.1007/s00417-018-3921-0. Epub 2018 Feb 5.
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Edwards TL, Cottriall CL, Xue, K, Simunovic MP, Ramsden JD, Zrenner E, MacLaren RE. Assessment of the electronic retinal implant in restoring vision to blind patients with end-stage retinitis pigmentosa. Ophthalmology. 2018 Mar;125(3):432-443. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2017.09.019. Epub 2017 Oct 27.
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Edwards TL, Williams J, Patrício MI, Simunovic MP, Shanks M, Clouston P, MacLaren RE. Novel non-contiguous exon duplication in choroideremia. Clin Genet. 2018 Jan;93(1):144-148. doi: 10.1111/cge.13021. Epub 2017 Apr 19.
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Simunovic MP, Xue K, MacLaren RE. Using Rho Kinase Inhibitors for Retinal Detachment-Reply. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2017 Aug 1;135(8):895-896. doi: 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2017.2283. No abstract available.
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Simunovic, MP, Jolly, JK, Xue, K, MacLaren, RE. Structural and functional recovery following limited iatrogenic macular detachment for retinal gene therapy. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2017 Mar 1;135(3):234-241.
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Simunovic, MP, Jolly, JK, Xue, K, Edwards, TL, Groppe, M, Downes, SM, MacLaren, RE. The spectrum of CHM gene mutations in choroideremia and their relationship to clinical phenotype. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2016; 57: 6033-6039.
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Simunovic MP, Moore AT, MacLaren RE. Selective automated perimetry under photopic, mesopic, and scotopic conditions: detection mechanisms and testing strategies. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2016;5(3):10.
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Simunovic MP. Acquired color vision deficiency. Surv Ophthalmol. 2016;61(2):132-55.
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Edwards TL, Jolly JK, Groppe M, Barnard AR, Cottriall CL, Tolmachova T, Black, GC, Webster, AR, Lotery, AJ, Holder, GE, Xue, K, Downes, SM, Simunovic, MP, Seabra, MC, & MacLaren, RE. Visual acuity after retinal gene therapy for choroideremia. N Engl J Med. 2016;374(20):1996-8.
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Fahim AT, Simunovic MP, Mammo Z, Mitry D, Pakzad-Vaezi K, Bradley P, et al. Comparison of ophthalmic training in 6 English-speaking countries. Can J Ophthalmol. 2016;51(3):212-8.
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Simunovic MP, Thaung C, da Cruz L, Sagoo MS, Egan C. Small cell carcinoma of the lung metastatic to the retina: A clinicopathologic case report. Can J Ophthalmol. 2015;50(6):e119-21.
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Simunovic MP, Maberley DA. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy for proliferative diabetic retinopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Retina. 2015;35(10):1931-42.
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Simunovic MP. Metamorphopsia and its quantification. Retina. 2015;35(7):1285-91.
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Simunovic MP, Hunyor AP, Ho IV. Vitrectomy for diabetic macular edema: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Can J Ophthalmol. 2014;49(2):188-95.
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Simunovic MP. "The El Greco fallacy" fallacy. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2014;132(4):491-4.
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Rush RB, Simunovic MP, Vandiver L, Aragon AV, 2nd, Ysasaga JE. Treat-and-extend bevacizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration: the importance of baseline characteristics. Retina. 2014;34(5):846-52.
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Rush RB, Simunovic MP, Aragon AV, 2nd, Ysasaga JE. Postoperative macular hole formation after vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling for the treatment of epiretinal membrane. Retina. 2014;34(5):890-6.
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Simunovic MP, Maberley DA. Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy mimicking macular telangiectasia type 1. Can J Ophthalmol. 2014;49(1):e28-30.
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Rush RB, Simunovic MP, Aragon AV, 2nd, Ysasaga JE. Treat-and-extend intravitreal bevacizumab for branch retinal vein occlusion. Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2014;45(3):212-6.
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Rush R, Simunovic MP, Sheth S, Chang A, Hunyor AP. 23-Gauge Pars Plana Vitrectomy Versus Scleral Buckling Versus Combined Pars Plana Vitrectomy-Scleral Buckling for Medium-Complexity Retinal Detachment Repair. Asia Pac J Ophthalmol (Phila). 2014;3(4):215-9.
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Rush RB, Simunovic MP, Sheth S, Kratz A, Hunyor AP. Pars plana vitrectomy versus combined pars plana vitrectomy-scleral buckle for secondary repair of retinal detachment. Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2013;44(4):374-9.
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Rush RB, Simunovic MP, Hunyor AP. Twenty-Three-Gauge Pars Plana Vitrectomy With Inferior Retinectomy and Postoperative Perfluoro-n-Octane Retention for Retinal Detachment Repair. Asia Pac J Ophthalmol (Phila). 2013;2(4):232-6.
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Simunovic MP, Rush RB, Hunyor AP, Chang AA. Endophthalmitis following intravitreal injection versus endophthalmitis following cataract surgery: clinical features, causative organisms and post-treatment outcomes. Br J Ophthalmol. 2012;96(6):862-6.
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Simunovic MP. Dawbeney Turbervile, MD (1612-1696). Arch Ophthalmol. 2012;130(3):406-8.
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Simunovic MP. On seeing yellow: the case for, and against, short-wavelength light-absorbing intraocular lenses. Arch Ophthalmol. 2012;130(7):919-26.
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Simunovic MP. Blue-blocking IOLs. Ophthalmology. 2011;118(9):1897-8.
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Hughes EH, Guzowski M, Simunovic MP, Hunyor AP, McCluskey P. Syphilitic retinitis and uveitis in HIV-positive adults. Clin Experiment Ophthalmol. 2010;38(9):851-6.
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Simunovic MP, Hughes EH, Townend BS, Ho IV. Acute annular outer retinopathy with systemic symptoms. Eye (Lond). 2010;24(6):1125-6.
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Simunovic MP. Colour vision deficiency. Eye (Lond). 2010;24(5):747-55.
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Michaelides M, Johnson S, Simunovic MP, Bradshaw K, Holder G, Mollon JD, et al. Blue cone monochromatism: a phenotype and genotype assessment with evidence of progressive loss of cone function in older individuals. Eye (Lond). 2005;19(1):2-10.
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Michaelides M, Johnson S, Bradshaw K, Holder GE, Simunovic MP, Mollon JD, et al. X-linked cone dysfunction syndrome with myopia and protanopia. Ophthalmology. 2005;112(8):1448-54.
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Simunovic MP, Cullerne A, Colley A, Wilson TD. How well does color perimetry isolate responses from individual cone mechanisms? J Glaucoma. 2004;13(1):22-7.
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Simunovic MP, Calver R. Crowding under scotopic conditions. Vision Res. 2004;44(10):963-9.
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Michaelides M, Aligianis IA, Holder GE, Simunovic M, Mollon JD, Maher ER, et al. Cone dystrophy phenotype associated with a frameshift mutation (M280fsX291) in the alpha-subunit of cone specific transducin (GNAT2). Br J Ophthalmol. 2003;87(11):1317-20.
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Simunovic MP, Regan BC, Mollon JD. Is color vision deficiency an advantage under scotopic conditions? Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2001;42(13):3357-64.
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Gregory-Evans K, Kelsell RE, Gregory-Evans CY, Downes SM, Fitzke FW, Holder GE, Simunovic M, et al. Autosomal dominant cone-rod retinal dystrophy (CORD6) from heterozygous mutation of GUCY2D, which encodes retinal guanylate cyclase. Ophthalmology. 2000;107(1):55-61.
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Simunovic MP. The cone dystrophies. Cambridge: University of Cambridge; 1999.
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Simunovic MP, Votruba M, Regan BC, Mollon JD. Colour discrimination ellipses in patients with dominant optic atrophy. Vision Res. 1998;38(21):3413-9.
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Simunovic MP, Moore AT. The cone dystrophies. Eye (Lond). 1998;12 ( Pt 3b):553-65.
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Simunovic MP. Post radial keratotomy RGP fitting--a case study. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 1997;20(3):87-90.
LOCATIONS
APPOINTMENTS
You may book an appointment with Professor Simunovic by calling one of our locations. If you are preparing for a visit, please read this important information prior to your appointment
