The Israeli consortium was established in 2014 and includes genetic research laboratories, ophthalmologists specializing in retinal diseases,
in pediatric ophthalmology and the genetics of eye diseases, as well as diagnostic centers for electrophysiological functions of the visual system, and a bioinformatics laboratory.
The consortium was established to encourage collaboration between researchers and physicians in the field of hereditary retinal diseases,
to enable reliable and rapid transfer of information between the various centers, and to make new treatments accessible to all patients with hereditary retinal diseases in Israel.
The consortium members have so far published 48 joint scientific articles and won three joint research grants.
The consortium members found that hereditary retinal diseases are relatively common in Israel with an overall prevalence of approximately one in a thousand.