This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
NIIOS announces move to US
Endothelial keratoplasty pioneer Gerrit Melles feels that the cultural environment of the US can better support the advanced research of his group.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
NIIOS, or at least part of NIIOS, will move to the United States to find “a more open environment that welcomes innovation,” founder Gerrit Melles, MD, PhD, said in an interview with Ocular Surgery News.
NIIOS, short for the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery, is an articulated structure centered around innovative corneal transplantation surgery. It is “four institutes under one roof” — clinic, eye bank, research and academy.
The clinic and surgical unit, where patients are seen and operated by the corneal specialists of Melles’ group, relies on an internal eye bank for graft supply.
“The eye bank is fully incorporated in the whole process. People there work closely with us in the clinic and often see the patients before preparing the grafts,” Melles said.
A research and development unit and a teaching department are closely connected with the clinic and eye bank. In this microsystem, corneal transplantation is a work in progress; new concepts are explored, researched and put into practice.
A different approach to innovation
In 1998, Melles laid the foundation for modern endothelial keratoplasty, and a lot has happened since then.
“We have reached the point where we have to ask ourselves where we want to go and how we are going to proceed. Transitioning to the United States may have advantages in terms of new opportunities and more freedom to pursue new projects. It’s something to do with the cultural environment, with the overall atmosphere. The U.S. is open to innovation, eager to work on new ideas, and this is what we need the most. A lot of our collaborations are already with people in the U.S.,” he said.
Melles did his research fellowship in the U.S. and said it was a blessing and a curse. He learned and embraced the way Americans think and work, but once he was back in Europe, he felt like a fish out of water.
“Europe is different and to me sometimes seems caught in a dynamic of undefined anxiety for solving problems. The system may clearly be defective but should be left untouched, even though history has shown time after time that survival comes with flexibility and scientific progress,” Melles said.
NIIOS USA has already become a reality with a branch office for research and educational activities in San Diego. The next step will be to move the entire research and development and academy departments. The clinic and eye bank may follow at a later stage.
“We have been working at our projects there for more than 6 months now, and the support we have had is overwhelming and inspiring. Our research, which is applied research, so much focused on practical things like surgery and the devices we need for surgery, is very well accepted in the U.S.,” Melles said.
Melles also plans to keep the original NIIOS in Rotterdam running, although its focus may change.
“Many of the members of my team are Dutch, or anyway European, and it may not be possible for all of them to move to the U.S. However, I more and more think that nowadays home can be in two different places,” he said.
To support the many research projects that are currently in the pipeline, NIIOS has launched a fundraising campaign, aimed at raising $20 million by 2020. – by Michela Cimberle
For more information:
Gerrit Melles, MD, PhD, can be reached at the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery, Laan Op Zuid 88, 3071 AA Rotterdam, Netherlands; email: melles@niios.nl.
Disclosure: Melles reports he is the founder of NIIOS.