Professor Christopher Layton – Director of Clinical Research
Professor Christopher Layton (Dr Chris) is a private clinical ophthalmologist based in Brisbane and a national leader in innovative ophthalmology.
After studying optometry and medicine locally, he completed specialist training as an eye surgeon in Queensland, Oxford and London, subspecialty training in retinal surgery at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. Dr Layton was awarded a PhD in ocular molecular biology by Oxford University. He is the listed inventor of multiple scientific patents in the USA, the EU, Japan, Israel, Australia and Singapore.
Dr Chris is a Rhodes Scholar and founding director of the LVF Ophthalmology Research Centre. He is also Founder of Ocugene, a Queensland based biotech start-up which is commercialising his gene therapy technology targeting macular degeneration, uveitis and choroidal melanoma.
Dr Chris is the listed inventor on multiple patents in the USA, the EU, Japan, Israel, Australia and Singapore. His work has been widely published in the international literature and has been recognised by multiple international awards.
Dr Chris is the clinical director of the Layton Vision Foundation, where he works with a team of specialists to provide clinical care for the disadvantaged, to create curative interventions suitable for use in low resource settings, and to provide education and fellowships for the next generation of doctors and scientists developing ways to prevent and cure blindness.
Armed with this knowledge and experience, Dr Chris felt it imperative to invest in high-level eye research in Queensland. Dr Chris work is now focused on developing new therapies through research and clinical trials at the LVF Ophthalmology Research Centre, which is part-funded by the Layton Vision Foundation. The team of specialists at the LVF Ophthalmology Research Centre aim to create single, curative interventions with long-term effects.
Through the Layton Vision Foundation, Dr Chris provides educational training and research fellowship opportunities for the next generation of doctors in academic Ophthalmology. The goal is to ensure young doctors are empowered to push the boundaries of modern medicine to develop high quality treatments that are accessible for all.
Dr. Sergei Kozlov – Laboratory Manager
Dr Sergei Kozlov is a biochemist and cell biologist who is responsible for the day-to-day running of LVF research laboratory based in Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, Brisbane.
Sergei completed his PhD studies at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland in 2000. The focus of his study was human genetic disorder ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T). During his postdoctoral career Sergei worked in QIMR (Queensland Institute of Medical research) and UQCCR (University of Queensland Centre for Clinical research) in Prof Martin Lavin laboratory. The results of his research contributed significantly to seminal publications in top-ranking journals (Nature, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci USA, Nature Genetics, Science) in the field of DNA damage. During his entire research career, Sergei worked in the domain of human disease, specifically in the fields of hereditary ataxias, inflammation, breast and brain cancers, radiation therapy.
As an adjunct lecturer at the School of Medicine, UQ and Griffith University, he has always supervised and mentored postgraduate students in collaborative projects, which resulted in publication of the first studies of stem cells in A-T.
He joined Layton Vision Foundation in 2021 as a lab manager and research scientist to work on gene therapy projects. As a research scientist in LVF he became a Honorary Research fellow at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland.
Dr. Jason Steel – Director of Scientific Research
Dr Jason Steel is an expert in Molecular Biology and Immunology having trained and worked at the National Institutes of Health, USA, in the Cancer Gene Therapy Laboratory of Professor John C. Morris and the Cytokine Immunology and Immunotherapy laboratory of Distinguished Investigator Professor Thomas A. Waldmann. While at the NIH, Dr Steel was awarded the prestigious NIH Fellows Award for Research
Excellence (FARE) on 3 separate occasions for his work on gene therapy.
He has also led several gene therapy research teams including at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and The University of Queensland Faculty of Medicine before teaming up with Professor Chris Layton (Director of the LVF Ophthalmology Research Centre) to found Ocugene. In addition to his role at LVF, Dr Jason C. Steel is currently a Senior Lecturer and Biotechnology discipline lead at Central Queensland University, an Honorary Research Fellow in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Queensland and continues to work on targeted gene therapy using adenoviral and adeno-associated viruses as delivery vectors.
Dr. Brenda Castro – Scientific Fellow
Dr Brenda Castro is a pharmacist by training and a post-doctoral research fellow at the Layton Vision Foundation. She obtained her Ph.D. at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil, with research conducted at the University of California, Irvine. She came to Australia during the Covid epidemic in 2021.
Brenda is passionate about discovering therapies for eye diseases and has been working in scientific ophthalmology for over 8 years. She has experience utilising nanoparticles, gene therapies, implants, and peptides as solutions for different ocular diseases. Brenda’s work and collaborations have resulted in 10 publications in international journals and three patents.
Janelle Bostock – Brand and Communications Manager
Janelles’ strength in stakeholder and community engagement stemmed from growing up in rural Queensland that is naturally applied to the business landscape. Janelle has carved out a career in private, public and not-for-profit sectors.
She has been involved with not for profit and membership organisations for close to 25 years, including a decade with the Australian Institute of Office Professionals, founding member of Marfan Association Queensland.
In June 2017, Janelle became the owner and Chief Executive Officer of Women’s Network Australia (WNA), one of the longest running women specific networks in the country and transitioned out of that position in December 2021.
Her areas of expertise include governance systems and processes, brand identity and awareness, bespoke event management, stakeholder engagement and strategic partnershipsJanelle extends her community work to include the Moreton Bay Colleges’ Foundation Board and Manly Harbour Village Chamber of Commerce.