Alcon Research Institute 2009 Awardees
Robin Ali, Ph.D
NIHR Biomedical Research Centre
London, England.
Professor Ali‘s main research interest is the development of gene and stem cell therapies for the treatment of retinal disorders. As well as establishing laboratory-based proof of concept for these novel therapies, Professor Ali has also demonstrated, in a recent clinical trial, an improvement in vision following gene therapy in a patient with an inherited retinal degeneration. Robin Ali is Professor of Human Molecular Genetics at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Faculty, NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, England.
Brenda L. Gallie, M.D
Ontario Cancer Institute
Toronto, Canada
Dr. Gallie is a graduate of Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada and is now the Head of the Retinoblastoma Program at the Hospital for Sick Children and a senior scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute, University Health Network, in Toronto, Canada.
Gregory S. Hageman, Ph.D
University of Iowa in Iowa City
Iowa City, Iowa
Dr. Hageman conducts research on age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of irreversible worldwide blindness. Dr. Hageman graduated from the University of Southern California and has been a professor at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa for the past 12 years. Dr. Hageman and his colleagues have shown that AMD is a byproduct of inflammation characterized, in part, by abnormal regulation of the complement system (a component of the immune system) in the back of the eye. Strong support for this paradigm was provided recently by these investigators, who have shown that genes associated with the complement system account for approximately 75% of AMD in the human population.
Mark S. Humayun, M.D., Ph.D.
Doheny Eye Institute
Los Angeles, California
Dr. Humayun conducts research on retinal prosthetic devices. Dr. Humayun has degrees from both Duke University and the University of North Carolina. Currently he is a professor and researcher at the Doheny Eye Institute, University of Southern California Medical School in Los Angeles, California.
Robert W. Massof, Ph.D.
(Shared Award with Eli Peli, MSc, O.D.)
Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute
Baltimore, Maryland
Dr. Massof and Dr. Peli conduct research on low vision rehabilitation. Their work is devoted to developing new technology and clinical methods for restoring lost function to people with disabling visual impairments. Dr. Massof is a graduate of Indiana University and is now a professor and director at the Lions Vision Research & Rehabilitation Center at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.
Eli Peli, MSc, O.D.
(Shared Award with Robert W. Massof, Ph.D.)
Schepens Eye Research Institute
Boston, Massachusetts
Dr. Massof and Dr. Peli conduct research on low vision rehabilitation. Their work is devoted to developing new technology and clinical methods for restoring lost function to people with disabling visual impairments. Dr. Peli is a graduate of the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology and the New England College of Optometry. He currently serves as a professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and as the Moakley Scholar in Aging Eye Research at the Schepens Eye Research Institute in Boston, Massachusetts.