Newswise — Rockville, Md.—The ARVO Foundation congratulates Mohajeet Bhuckory, PhD (Stanford University) — the 2024 recipient of the Point of View Award. Established by the Point of View Foundation (Fundació Punt de Vista), the award provides a $20,000 cash prize in recognition of an outstanding scholarly article related to efforts to restore vision through regenerative ophthalmology, biotechnology, whole eye transplantation or other approaches.
Bhuckory was selected for his article, '"Cellular migration into a subretinal honeycomb-shaped prosthesis for high-resolution prosthetic vision" (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [PNAS]; Oct. 13, 2023).
"The most promising results in restoration of sight to patients blinded by age-related macular degeneration to date have been achieved by replacing the missing photoreceptors with 'electronic photoreceptors'. To improve the visual acuity achievable by retinal implants, these electronic photoreceptors should be miniaturized further," explains Bhuckory. "In an animal model of blindness, we demonstrated the feasibility of reducing the electronic photoreceptors closer to cellular size by using a 3-dimensional honeycomb-shaped interface with the retina. This allows retinal neurons to migrate into wells containing the electrodes, thereby getting exposed to strong electric field, independent on size." Bhuckory's results demonstrated good compatibility of these implants with the retina and high-resolution vision, which he says opens the door to highly functional restoration of sight.
Bhuckory notes the award will promote their effort towards improving vision restoration for patients. "This award, along with the opportunity to further present our research to the scientific community will give essential exposure to the work we are doing, and open the potential for new collaborations," he says. "Furthermore, recognition from such a prestigious organization will help in my career development by making me more competitive for national grants to further my research and career goals." Bhuckory adds the award funds will directly help to cover the research costs to obtain further essential pre-clinical results before their technology can be translated to patients.
For more information about the Point of View Award, visit ARVO’s website
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The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is the largest eye and vision research organization in the world. Members include approximately 10,000 eye and vision researchers from over 75 countries. ARVO advances research worldwide into understanding the visual system and preventing, treating and curing its disorders. Learn more at ARVO.org.
Established in 2001, the ARVO Foundation for Eye Research raises funds through partnerships, grants and sponsorships to support ARVO’s world-class education and career development resources for eye and vision researchers of all stages of career and education. Learn more at ARVOFoundation.org.
Based in Spain, the Point of View Foundation (Fundació Punt de Vista) is dedicated to advancing scientific research related to disease and injuries of the eye and visual system. To learn more about their work, visit the .
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