The Research Laboratory has been designed to encourage cross-talk between the clinic and the laboratory, promoting basic and translational research within the Foundation's Operating Units, creating brain-storming environments and possibilities in applied research. The objective is to achieve significant results in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of ocular diseases caused by "low vision".

Located on floor -1 of the British Hospital Presidium (Via Santo Stefano Rotondo, 6 00184 Rome; entrance from number 5, San Giovanni Addolorata, Rome), the Research Laboratory covers almost 300 square metres and presents sample acceptance and handling areas and specialist areas (static and dynamic, biochemical and molecular cytometry) dedicated to the biochemical-molecular and cellular analysis of the same in order to produce useful information to acquire new knowledge on allergic, chronic-inflammatory, fibrosing and neurodegenerative diseases of the eye, and not only, and useful data for precision medicine and personalised therapy. The presence of a cell culture chamber - equipped with pass-boxes, incubators, dedicated hood, assets for the first cell analyses and dedicated personal access areas - allows you to better understand the cell-cell and cell-mediator pathways, through the development of in vitro and ex-vivo, single and three-dimensional systems, exposed to simulation tests (stimulation/neutralization) in the short and long term. The laboratory is equipped with modern equipment for light-transmitted optical microscopy, epifluorescence and confocal, analysis and data acquisition systems in benchtop for biochemistry and molecular, and all the assets for multiparametric development and data management. Thanks to the knowledge acquired over the years on biopsy samples and ocular fluids, the Research Laboratory has developed and verified new systems and paths for applications in the surgical and outpatient sectors. Experimental protocols, research projects (including competitive ones) and patents developed (filed but not yet licensed) are the most evident documentation of growth. The path developed so far allows a 360° view of the pathophysiological mechanisms of ocular diseases and the development of new diagnostic and prognostic strategies.

Mission and Vision best characterize the laboratory that has recently renewed the ISO9001:2015 certification (Accredia; Bureau Veritas).

Our Mission and Vision

The mission of the research laboratory is to bring new knowledge in Ophthalmology to improve patient well-being and reduce the costs of the National Health Service. Through the use of state-of-the-art technologies and close support to the clinic, the research laboratory aims to understand biological systems and diseases with the aim of putting the patient at the center of interest, since only through a deep knowledge of the biochemical and molecular interactions that are established in a cellular pathological context can knowledge be acquired and tools developed to prevent or monitor and/or evaluate the effectiveness of therapies, opening up new paths and techniques of personalized and predictive medicine. All with the aim of developing new treatments and diagnostic/prognostic tools.

Cross-talk

The Research Laboratory is a scientific crossroads where biologists, biotechnologists, pharmacists, engineers and ophthalmologists and other specialists find a meeting point or a "scientific community that supports the medical mission without resolving into it". This diversity of skills has a great impact on the work of the specialist (ophthalmologist and others) and on the health of patients, as only a transversal multidisciplinary approach can help to understand the how and why of pathological cellular systems, and to develop new ideas for innovative treatments and diagnoses, not always confined to the ocular sector. Multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, combined with teaching in the field, offer training and growth paths for the senior researcher, for the specialist, for the graduate/student and for the young researcher.

Growth path

The G.B. Bietti Foundation is recognised for the synergy between basic research and clinical-surgical practice in the field of ophthalmology. The research laboratory has a 20-year history. The first research laboratory in Ophthalmology of the Bietti Foundation was founded in 2003 at the first headquarters of the University Campus Bio-Medico (via Longoni) and evolved in 2007 with the opening of the Laboratory of the ocular surface at the Advanced Research Biomedicine Bioengineering Centre of the University Campus Biomedico (Trigoria), but it was in 2015 that the Laboratory was consolidated as an individual unit at the British Hospital (San Giovanni Hospital, Rome), while the small laboratory of the ocular surface became a satellite laboratory for the study of the ocular surface. In 2020, the laboratory obtained the ISO9001:2015 certification (Accredia) as a Research and Development Laboratory in the biochemical, molecular and cellular fields applied to ophthalmological sciences. In 2024, the Research Laboratory centralises all its activities at the British Presidium, and closes the small laboratory at the Campus Bio-Medico, while maintaining historical collaborations. Internal and external collaborations have been implemented, not only in the field of ophthalmology but also in other sectors, keeping faith with multidisciplinarity and monothematics.

Sample collections

Thanks to some projects, the proximity between the research laboratory, specialist clinics and the operating room has favoured the formation of the first sample collections of "Ocular Fluids". There are currently three collections (CC1: ERMLAB01; CC2: MirrAV; CC3: MiopiCA) to which two new collections (CC4: Urban imprints and CC5: TEARplay) will soon be added. The procedures for entering samples in biobanking, as well as the storage and control procedures for the stored material, are dedicated to the type of sample stored. The path towards a biobank mirror of the Monothematic Institute in Ophthalmology is still long, but it will represent yet another challenge for the Research Laboratory.

Research projects

• Evolution of the tear film in the Antarctic region: biostrumental, biochemical and behavioural actors.