Researchers awarded Champalimaud Vision Award

Six Harvard Medical School (HMS) researchers were among the recipients of the 2014 António Champalimaud Vision Award, the highest distinction in ophthalmology and visual science. The award was given for the development of anti-angiogenic therapy for retinal disease.

The researchers include Joan Whitten Miller, Evangelos S. Gragoudas, and Patricia A. D’Amore, of HMS and Massachusetts Eye and Ear; Lloyd Paul Aiello of HMS, Joslin Diabetes Center, and Mass. Eye and Ear; George L. King of HMS and Joslin Diabetes Center; and Anthony P. Adamis of Genentech, who is also affiliated with HMS Ophthalmology and Mass. Eye and Ear. Napoleone Ferrara of University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, also received the award.

The group was honored on Sept. 10, 2014 in Lisbon, Portugal.  The Champalimaud Vision Award is often referred to as the “Nobel Prize for Vision” and with its €1 million ($1.3 million USD) purse, it is among the world’s largest scientific and humanitarian prizes.

“It is a great honor to be recognized as a group for our translational work in the field of angiogenesis,” said Dr. Miller, chair of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and chief of Ophthalmology at Mass. Eye and Ear and Mass General. “We are thrilled to receive this wonderful award, and remain inspired to continue our investigations, pursuing our passion to improve the lives of patients around the world, so that children born today may see throughout their lives.”