Drs. José-Alain Sahel and Botond Roska have received the 2026 António Champalimaud Vision Award in recognition of their work using optogenetics to restore partial vision in people with severe retinal degeneration.
Sahel, Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and director of the UPMC Vision Institute, shares the award with Roska, Director of Science at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel.
Their research has helped advance optogenetics as a potential strategy for restoring visual function in patients whose retinal photoreceptors have been lost. The approach combines gene therapy with light-stimulating technology to make surviving retinal cells responsive to light. Specially engineered goggles then deliver light signals designed to activate the reprogrammed cells.
In 2021, Sahel, Roska, and collaborators at the Institut de la Vision in Paris reported what they described as the first clinical application of optogenetics to partially restore vision in a human patient. Published in Nature Medicine, the study involved a patient with retinitis pigmentosa who regained the ability to perceive, locate, count, and touch objects following treatment and visual training.
The clinical trial underpinning the research was conducted across sites in Paris, London, and Pittsburgh.
The António Champalimaud Vision Award recognizes major contributions to vision research, sight restoration, and efforts to combat blindness and visual impairment, including in underserved regions. The award, established by the Champalimaud Foundation, provides €1 million in unrestricted funding to support recipients’ research, clinical work, or public health programs.
Sahel and Roska received the award in Lisbon on Sept. 15. The pair will deliver the Champalimaud Award Lecture at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting in San Diego in May 2027.
Their recognition highlights the growing clinical potential of optogenetics, which is being investigated as a possible route to vision restoration for patients with advanced retinal disease who have few or no existing treatment options.
