Heather Sheardown, PhD
Speaker
Heather Sheardown, PhD
Dean, Faculty of Engineering
Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
Host: Christine Wildsoet
Date and Time
Monday, January 30, 2023
11:10 am - 12:30 pm
Location
Room 489 Minor Hall
Heather Sheardown's Abstract
Shifting Paradigms in Ocular Drug Delivery.
While eyedrops have traditionally been administered as a way of treating the majority of ocular conditions, the natural protective mechanisms of the eye mean that they simply are not very effective. The use of alternative delivery technologies has great potential to alleviate some of the issues around eyedrops. Contact lenses as a potential delivery vehicle for various anterior segment pharmaceuticals will be described including methods to prolong delivery and allow for storage. Alternative formulations including mucoadhesive formulations and others will be discussed. Finally, methods of prolonging delivery of drugs to the back of the eye have the potential to lessen patient impacts and improve therapeutic outcomes and will be described.