WELCOME
to Dr. Dean Cestari’s Team webpage
for the 2009 BostonMarathon
______________________
If you would like to donate to a specific member of the team: Under the “Find a Friend” panel to the right, search for the runner’s name which you would like to donate to or click on “view all Fundraisers”.
TEAM MEMBERS:
Sandra Baptista-Pires
Dean Cestari, MD
Marc Dinkin, MD
Wayne Hewlett
Tarah Martell
Ellen Mitchell
Nicolas Moretti
Michelle Santoro
We are a part of Team Eye and Ear, the Boston Marathon team from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Team Eye and Ear members span a wide range of athletic abilities and every walk of life. They are generous and dedicated individuals who act not only as fundraisers and athletes, but as ambassadors for Mass. Eye and Ear. Their strong dedication helps to fund hope for those individuals suffering from eye, ear, nose, throat, head and neck disorders. The web address for Team Eye and Ear is: www.FirstGiving.com/MassEyeAndEar.
What is Neuro - Ophthalmology?The optic nerve brings vision from the eye to the brain. If you imagine the eye to be a digital camera and the brain a computer, the optic nerve can be thought of as the cable that attaches the camera to the computer. If the cord (optic nerve) is injured, even if the camera (eye) and computer (brain) are functioning, you will not be able to transfer clear images from the eye to the brain and a person will have decreased or blurred vision that cannot be helped with eyeglasses, medications or surgery. Many diseases can injure the optic nerve including decreased blood flow (Ischemic Optic Neuropathy), demyelination (Optic neuritis/Multiple Sclerosis), infections, inflammations and tumors. Regardless of the cause, when the optic nerve is injured we call it an optic neuropathy.
What is HONORS (Harvard Optic Neuropathy Organization to Restore Sight)? HONORS is a translational research collaborative intended to understand the mechanisms involved in optic nerve injury through basic science research in order to develop and test novel treatment strategies that will preserve and restore vision following optic nerve injury in humans. Every dollar raised will be used in this research effort with the goal of developing a human treatment within 10 years.
This team of eight is raising money for neuro-ophthalmology research through the HONORS program (see below).