Blog 3

On Saturday Professor Xu, Xu Wanqing, and I traveled to Shanghai for a meeting at First People’s Hospital. We met with Ophthalmologist Dr. Sun and discussed research that is being conducted on drug delivery to the eye. Currently, there is a need for improvement in the therapy for wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration.  Wet AMD is a condition in which there is damage caused to the macula due to abnormal blood vessel growth underneath the retina. The drugs that combat this vessel growth are called Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor drugs (Anti-VEGF). The current therapy for wet AMD requires repeated drug injections into the eye which can become very expensive. One potential project of mine will be to determine if there is a way to encapsulate Anti-VEGF drugs to create sustained and controllable release of the drug. This would allow the drug to be effective for a longer period of time. Another project will be to use 3D printing to develop a detailed model of the eye that can be used for testing. I am consulting with Dr. Cynthia Roberts on this project to determine what characteristics this model should have.

Above is a photo of Dr. Sun, Professor Xu, and myself from the meeting at First People’s Hospital on Saturday

After our meeting everyone went out to lunch at a very nice restaurant. There were many different dishes were for us to try.  Some of the food looked very different than what I am used to back in America so I was hesitant to try some things, but overall it was a great experience!

 



Above is a photo from lunch with Dr. Sun

After lunch Xu Wanqing and I checked into our hotel. We were accompanied by Wang Qin who was one of the Ophthalmology students at the meeting earlier in the day. She was able to help us find our way around Shanghai to do some sightseeing. On Saturday afternoon we went to visit the City of God’s Temple, which was filled with small shops. My favorite part of this trip was being able to see one artist create the photo below with only his hand and ink.

 

 

 

After doing some sight-seeing during the day, Xu Wanqing and I ate dinner with 2 of her friends at a new mall. We were exhausted after a long day and went back to the hotel to get some sleep. On Sunday Xu Wanqing, Wang Qin, and I went out to do some more sight-seeing. We first went to the Yuyuan gardens. I was so lucky get an English-speaking guide for these gardens so that I could learn more about the history behind the beautiful scenery. We then walked to the Bund and saw downtown Shanghai. Overall, I had an incredible weekend traveling around and seeing some of the sights in China!

Above is a photo of Xu Wanqing and me touring the Yuyuan Gardens

Above is a photo of myself at the Bund in Shanghai