José-Alain Sahel, MD, has been awarded the International Prize for Translational Neuroscience by the Gertrud Reemtsma Foundation for his pioneering work on restoring vision to blind patients using optogenetic therapy.
Dr. Sahel is McGowan affiliated faculty, Distinguished Professor of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Director of the UPMC Eye Center, and the Eye and Ear Foundation Endowed Chair of Ophthalmology. He founded the Vision Institute in Paris in 2008, serving as its director until 2021. Since 2023, he has been professor emeritus at Sorbonne University. He was honored alongside long-time collaborator Botond Roska, MD, PhD, founding Director of the Institute for Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB).
The International Prize for Translational Neuroscience of the Gertrud Reemtsma Foundation, endowed with €60,000 annually, is one of the most prominent international prizes for translational neuroscience. The foundation recognizes outstanding biomedical scientists and clinicians who have made original and significant contributions to translational neuroscience.
Drs. Sahel and Roska used optogenetic methods to partially restore vision in patients blinded by retinitis pigmentosa (RP). RP affects more than two million people worldwide and is one of the most common hereditary retinal diseases. With the exception of one approved gene therapy in rare early onset condition, it has not yet been possible to restore vision to those who are already blind.
However, Drs. Sahel and Roska have genetically modified cells in the retina to take over the function of defective sensory cells. In one of their clinical trials, gene therapy combined with light-enhancing glasses as a visual prothesis, enabled patients suffering from blindness from RP to perceive light stimuli. One of the patients had been blind for decades.
The work by Drs. Sahel and Roska is the first demonstration of optogenetics in humans and a global milestone in treating blindness.
In an article published by the IOB, Dr. Roska noted, “This was the first proof-of-concept for optogenetics in any human disease,” adding that newly-emerging data from the trial show some treated patients are achieving even better responses.
“After many years of working together, winning this award comes as a happy surprise,” Dr. Sahel said. “Dr. Roska and I share a common enthusiasm and keen interest in science, and our collaboration continually produces new ideas. Optogenetics has a huge future in ophthalmology, and our long-term goal is to make it even better for patients.”
Read The New York Times coverage of the study here.
Award coverage can be found at IOB and Max Planck Gesellschaft.