Articles from Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB)

Basel, 15 September 2026 - Botond Roska, Director of Science at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), and José-Alain Sahel, University of Pittsburgh and Chair of the IOB Scientific Advisory Board, have been awarded the 2026 António Champalimaud Vision Award. Worth EUR 1 million, this is the largest award worldwide in the field of vision and ophthalmology. It marks a major international recognition of the research led by Roska and Sahel and, for IOB, of its mission to understand the mechanisms of vision and translate these discoveries into new therapies for vision loss.

Scientists develop MitoCatch, a system that delivers healthy mitochondria directly to the cells that need them most

Researchers have developed a highly efficient gene editing therapy that could potentially treat Stargardt disease, the most common form of inherited macular degeneration. This groundbreaking study, published in Nature Medicine on 8 January 2025, demonstrates the therapeutic use of a precision gene editing technology called base editing.

Botond Roska and José-Alain Sahel have been awarded the Wolf Prize in Medicine for their pioneering work on restoring vision to blind patients using optogenetic therapy.

Basel, Switzerland, June 22, 2023 --In recognition of their pioneering work on restoring vision to blind patients using optogenetic therapy, Botond Roska and José-Alain Sahel were today awarded the International Prize for Translational Neuroscience by the Gertrud Reemtsma Foundation, managed by the Max Planck Society. The €60,000 annual prize rewards biomedical scientists and clinicians who make exceptional contributions toward the understanding of neurobiology and neurological diseases. The prize was awarded on June 22, 2023, in Hamburg, Germany.